After a Storm
by caputdraconis14
Summary: Rose and Scorpius have never truly gotten along but their attraction for each other is inevitable. Competition remains, but as their relationship grows fonder, they face threats from within Hogwarts's very walls, and familial pressures and expectations...
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Hey everyone! I just want to say a few things right off the bat. **_

_**Disclaimer: The characters and world don't belong to me, but to JKR. Obviously. **_

_**Warning: This is rated M for a reason. If you don't like lemon or smut, don't read it.**_

_**Note: This was the first fic I wrote or published, and that was about a year ago. I didn't have a beta and I updated as I wrote, so there was little editing. Just wanted to warn you now. **_

Prologue:

I didn't even know what I was supposed to make of this. After seven years, I was finally giving what I'd always known to be true a chance. My name meant nothing anymore, my family's past was worthless here. When I was lost in those eyes, it didn't matter. Nothing mattered but her.

And as the soft and silent tear trickled slowly out of the corner of her eye, I felt as my entire world was shattering. All I wanted was to wipe that tear. Years of hatred weighted my hands to my sides and left me staring. She seemed frozen too, but her eyes burned into mine, alive with their own perfect blue fire.

And I was lost again. She had no idea what she did to me, clearly. I was swept away by the ocean-blue waves of her eyes—like the sea after a storm.

"Why are you crying?" I finally whispered, finding the muscles needed to move my lips.

"Why?" she repeated the word as if it was foreign to her. She looked confused, like it tasted funny on her tongue.

"Why?" I breathed, gradually finding more muscles.

She moved before I could unfreeze myself, until she was standing mere inches away from me. Her fresh, rain scent flooded my nose and I felt the edges of my mind blur. I moved my arm—finally—and touched her shoulder.

"Because I'm scared," she murmured.

"Don't be afraid," I said. "You shouldn't be afraid."

Chapter 1: To Be Number One

Rose

Home was two things for me. It was a comfortable hearth, with a couple of ginger tabby cats that shed like it was their life's work, and hot-chocolate made by mum. It was Dad's attempts at making jokes and imitating Uncle George's tricks. It was a million Weasley relatives and friends crammed into one room for Christmas dinner.

Home was also Hogwarts though, and that was an inevitable fact. It was squishy armchairs and a more vibrant fire, games of Quidditch and chess, and pumpkin juice fresh every morning. It was Hagrid trudging through the snow and magically mutating vegetables behind his hut. It was a squishy four-poster bed with warming pans between the sheets. In a way, it was almost more appealing.

I looked around at my dorm, glad to be back. Sad too, I thought after a moment. This was the last year where I would get that strange feeling, like everything had been waiting for me, for the longest time. Next year, this room would finally pass on, from the seventh years to the first years. Some other new Gryffindor would take my bed and make it hers.

My dorm mates were heading to their beds as well. Each of them yawned with the lethargy induced by the massive feast we all just consumed. My cousin Lucy was turning down her sheets eagerly. She flopped down in her clothes already. Angie, the more reclusive of our five friends, was getting out her pajamas and her classic parchment. She had a Durmstrang boyfriend she wrote to like it was her profession. My two other friends, possibly my two best friends, remained. Jessie Wood and Nina Lascombe were already arguing over our bathroom.

I for one was not in the mood. I had too many things to worry about, too much to think about. On my chest, I bore one very honorable badge, very proudly. I was Quidditch captain. Oh and I was Head Girl and too distracted to fight over bathrooms. I just pulled my robes off and tossed them in a pile with the rest of my clothes, before dropping into bed like a ton of bricks.

"Damn you, Wood," I heard Nina shout. There was a bang, and Jessie's familiar appalled shriek pierced the momentary silence of the dorm. Lucy was already out cold, and she could sleep through everything. Angie looked up with a slight glare from her parchment.

"What happened?" I asked, more concerned with the plumpness of my pillow than with which of my friends was now standing naked due to some sort of hex.

"Evil happened," Nina complained. I heard the bathroom door slam. Slithering into my pajamas, I slipped down in the sheets and pulled them over my head. I breathed in the deep scent of wood and air and freshness that made up my favorite scent—the scent of Hogwarts.

"Welcome home, Rosie," they seemed to say to me. I liked that, I liked that concept. Tomorrow, life would begin again. How was I going to balance all of this… well I had no idea, but I would have to figure it out. Just as I knew the Head Boy had a similar issue— he was Slytherin's Quidditch captain, and star seeker. Working in tandem with Scorpius Malfoy was going to be a challenge within itself. I didn't know him all that well, but I was fairly certain he hated me with an extreme passion. Basically because I was a Weasley too. What the hell was up with that.

Ah well, I would have to deal with him tomorrow, as I was obligated to meet with him and Headmistress McGonagall in the morning. And then I had to set up Quidditch trials and attempt to be a normal seventeen-year-old.

Well, at least a normal Hogwarts seventeen-year-old. There was definitely a difference. I was more certainly not normal.

I knew that Malfoy and I were neck in neck for finishing at the tip top of our class. We battled to the death in everything, and I always got the feeling that he was eager to prove something. My reasoning was, I was just intelligent. My mother's brains had been passed onto me, as well as my father's absolute stubbornness. It would be crazy to try and do it all, but I knew that I of all people could manage. As offspring of Ronald and Hermione Weasley there was no hope for me to fail. Even if I tried to.

Scorpius

So Rose Weasley was headgirl. Couldn't wait until Christmas to hear my father's opinion on that. Father wasn't all that bad, but his opinions of the Weasleys weren't always that sweet. And I had to admit that I was eager to make Dad proud, so I went right along with him. He just didn't want Rose to beat me. That was his ultimate problem. I always got the idea that he had a surpressed respect for both of the Weasley parents, and for their close friend, and famous hero, Harry Potter.

So knowing that I had tied with her _yet _again sort of frustrated me. It started in first year, when we went into Charms class and both levitated our feathers on the first try. And then it continued like that, in every class. She was a worthy competitor, and she always, always tied with me. When we had flying lessons, her broom jumped in her hands just as fast as mine had.

And this year, when two badges came in my letter from school, I thought I had to have bested her somewhere… But I stepped into the compartment this morning to find her standing there in front of me, already in her robes, with two badges on her chest as well. Life wasn't fair—just fairer than death, that's all. That was what Dad always said.

So damn it. There had to be some way to best her. I even had gone to great lengths to find out how many OWLS she had. We had the exact same courses and identical grades. Absolutely identical. Something weird was going on, my friend Eric always insisted. There was no way that this happened so frequently. Absolteuly no way.

I was wandering the halls of the school on—cough, cough—rounds. I had my wand out, dressed in my pajamas, and more or less just excited to get the hell out of the common room. Some of the more rowdy fifth years were celebrating coming back to school—in a very obnoxious manner. They were going to be in bad shape for the next morning, but I wasn't going to stop them from celebrating.

Sure, sure, some Head Boy I was, right? I couldn't even stop kids in my own house from being assholes. Well… I could, I just chose not to. If anyone was wondering, I just went to bed really early in order to keep up with all of the stress that came with my schedule this year. Not that it worried me. As long as I beat Rose Weasley once and for all.

Welcome to year seven of Hogwarts. I was just waiting for the world's last F-you, Scorpius. It started with my name and went downhill from there.

My footsteps echoed almost scary loud through the empty halls. I knew I would probably come across a teacher eventually, but there was no way I was going to get in any trouble. I had them, as my friends hated to accept, wrapped around my little finger. All the way from the Headmistress down to the caretaker. Not one of them ever thought to yell at me. Sure, the Malfoy fortune that had successfully bought my family back into the good graces of society had something to do with it. But sometimes I liked to think that at Hogwarts, they didn't see me as the Death Eater's son.

I knew that was a weight I would have to bear my entire life. My grandfather, whose name was rarely mentioned in the presence of my father, was deep within the circle of Lord Voldemort. Despite the Dark Lord's distaste for Lucius toward the end of the height of his power, my father too had been swept into the circle. I knew, perhaps better than anyone, about why my father did that. He wanted his father to approve of him. It was in the Malfoy blood not to fail or to disappoint. It was the same reason I strove to crush Rose Weasley like a bug.

It was my father's biggest mistake, he said. And I believed him.

But I was still the Death Eater's son, no matter how they saw me at Hogwarts.

A very long time ago, my father told me about the Room of Requirement. He said that it was a place to go if I ever I felt like the rest of the world was out to give me. He said it could give me anything I require, except for maybe pretty girls. But he'd never tried that.

Sometimes I just disappeared there so I could have some privacy. Tonight, as I pace in front of it, I thought of what I needed—the secret to Rose Weasley's demise. When it couldn't give me that, I debated asking it for a warm bath, but as Head Boy, I shared the nicest bathroom with my least favorite person, and it was just down the hall.

I whispered the password "Elder Wand" to the statue that kept me out, and it slid to the side to reveal a small porthole that I slipped through, ending up in the entrance to the bathroom. There was a small waiting area with a pair of chairs and a vanity, and an oak door with a spinning dial that let the other Head know if the room beyond, with the massive bathtub, was occupied. The door locked itself if a person entered the room, so that no Head Boy walked in on the Head Girl. As much as Rose Weasley was certainly not bad to look at, I would've felt horribly awkward walking in on her naked.

Once in the tub section of the bathroom, I turned on all over the bright taps with their scents and different bubbles. Stripping out of my robes and clothes, I dropped into the water quickly and fluidly, dropping under and doing laps while holding my breath.

Moaning Myrtle was probably going to appear. She did that. I knew she had a crush on me, just as she had crushed on my father before this. I felt bad for her, so I let her have her fun with me, catch a glimpse of whatever she wanted to see. Just so long as she didn't touch me. There was nothing I hated in this world more than touching a ghost. Except for maybe Rose Weasley.

But then again, I didn't really hate her. I just wanted to beat her. I knew that we were destined to be rivals from the beginning, that my father had detested her parents and uncle so much in their days of school. No matter his slight respect for the Weasleys and Potters, my father had told me on the first day of school when I was eleven, that I had to beat her.

And I never had. Not yet.


	2. Chapter 2

Rose

Breakfast the next morning found all of my friends and me sitting at the Gryffindor table. My closest and favorite cousin in the world was sitting next to me too, Albus. He went by Al, and had a desperate crush on my friend Jess. She however, was distracted by a Ravenclaw boy, by the name of Lysander Scamander. Lysander and Lorcan were two of the most adored boys in school. My cousin James had recently vacated one of those positions, to be replaced by Al, who people finally noticed once James wasn't around. And then there was Scorpius Malfoy.

The Malfoy in question was yawning largely at the Slytherin table, his blonde hair, so fair, glimmered in the sunlight and hung down shaggily, but I had to admit, attractively. He was attractive. No denying that. But he was also cocky. His girlfriend, Rachel, was half sitting in his lap while they ate. His friend Eric was across the table, looking nauseas. Didn't blame him.

I poured milk over my cornflakes as Nina argued with Lucy about what was acceptable on pancakes and what wasn't. Professor Longbottom, head of Gryffindor House, was heading down the table, passing out schedules. When he approached us, he tapped a couple of times on each piece of parchment, before handing them off to each of us.

"Thanks, Professor," I said, happy to accept my parchment.

"Professor McGonagall is anticipating you in her office right after breakfast," he informed me.

"I know, thank you, sir," I said, using all of my politeness. Professor Longbottom laughed. As a close friend of my parents who I often saw on holidays, he had seen me in all of my not-so-politeness as well.

He smiled gently and walked away as I looked at my schedule. Charms, Arithmancy, double potions, transfiguration, Herbology. Not too bad.

When everyone started leaving their tables and heading toward their first class, I slung my leather bag over my shoulder and headed in the general direction of the headmistress's office. After a moment, I heard the soft thuds of other footsteps following. I turned around to see Scorpius walking behind me, his blonde head down, his bag hanging from his hand, not over his shoulder.

"What's up, Weaselbee?" he shouted when he saw me looking at him.

"Morning, ferret," I said sweetly. My mother and father, and Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny loved to retell the story of a time when a professor turned Malfoy's father, Draco, into a snowy colored ferret in order to "teach" him. Sure, the teacher was a Death Eater in disguise, but still. I made it my nickname for Scorpius. He didn't enjoy it all that much, but I certainly got a kick out of it.

"Heading to McGonagall's office/" he wondered, ignoring my name-calling.

"Where else would I be going?" I questioned as his long legs picked up their pace until his stride brought him neck and neck with me.

"Um, home?" he said hopefully.

"In your dreams," I said.

"You have no idea," he said, laughing a little.

"Yes I do," I said stopping in front of the gargoyle that would reveal the stairs.

'Sugar Plums," Scorpius said, casting a sideways glance at me with his ice eyes. The gargoyle jumped to the side and I butted in front of him to get the on the three-step staircase first. He stepped after me, standing so close to me I felt awkward. I could feel him breath glance over the top of my head. He was much taller than I was, even on the step below me. Guess he had me beat there. I supposed he was also probably stronger than I was. But what did that matter when I had a wand to do my work for me? I didn't needed beautiful chiseled abs and sculpted biceps.

"Enter," McGonagall's aged voice called us. The door swung open and Malfoy followed after me into the brilliant office.

Professor McGonagall was sitting at her desk, waiting for us. She was getting old. Dad said she had to be about ready to retire… Or she would die. But he never said that in front of mum, who just adored the Professor from her days here at Hogwarts.

Malfoy and I sat down in front of her desk, waiting for what she had to say.

"Congratulations to both of you," she said, beaming at the two of us.

"Thank you, Professor," I blurted out quickly, so as to beat Malfoy to the polite punch.

"Yes, thank you, Professor," he echoed, doing his best not to shoot me a look.

"You are two students the likes of which have not been seen at Hogwarts in quite some time. While skilled academically beyond comparison—save for comparison to each other—you are also great leaders and models in our school, in society, and on, of course, the Quidditch pitch. To stay that younger students and your peers hope to emulate you is of course a fact that is impossible to doubt. As you begin this year as our two Heads, I would hope to believe that the faith I have stored in you will not be in vain. I hope that as two of our greatest role models and most astoundingly talented students, you will not abuse power, and you will continue to uphold the morals that Hogwarts prizes.'

I nodded and Scorpius did too, his expression solemn.

"I hope the work load that has been imposed on you here at the beginning of your seventh year, will not be too heavy a burden. I understand that the role of Quidditch captain is one that burdensome too, as well as your studies with their increasing difficulty. But I have the utmost faith in you."

"Thank you," Scorpius said, a smug looking crossing his face. I refrained from crossing my arms and pouting. Maturity. I had to maintain my mask of maturity.

"Now, on a heavier note," McGonagall continued. "I know that over the past seven years, the two of you have maintained a certain animosity toward each other. A competition. I've heard of it from your teachers, and from the various ghosts—they've seen the two of you break into short, competitive, and sometimes dangerous, duels in secret passageways." She gave us a stern look through her glasses. I turned a traditional Weasley crimson shade, and Scorpius looked down at his knees bashfully.

"And I will have you know, that no matter your old family prejudices, or your competition for success… I hope that these feelings will not stand in the way of you roles in all aspects of your seventh year here."

"They won't," I assured her, looking at Malfoy, begging him to contradict me. He just nodded.

"We won't let them, Professor," he agreed, seconding my statement.

I nodded along . Not that any of this meant I wouldn't continue to hex him in the secret passageways. She hadn't actually expressly forbidden that.

Scorpius:

I looked sideways at Rose as she and I walked up to the Charms corridor. She was looking determinedly ahead of herself, her graceful pale jaw set. Her face was smattered with the typical Weasely freckle configuration, and her mildly curly red locks flowed over her shoulders, half restrained in a black tie. That and she was the perfect normal height, which meant, of course, I still towered over her, but whatever.

Yeah, there was no denying that beauty was there. She was gorgeous, absolutely. Everyone always thought that about Rose Weasley. Something in her genetics just managed to work out in her favor. But that didn't mean I was attracted to her. I was just so frustrated by her, that mostly the beauty just bothered me, actually.

"What are you staring at, Malfoy?" she demanded, turning and glaring at me with her ocean eyes. They were a startling blue green, sort of sea like, definitely.

"Nothing," I replied tartly. She picked up her pace, walking faster than I was, clutching her bag as it hung on her shoulder. She took the stairs loudly with me following, watching as her robes billowed around her in an angry sort of black wave. My legs were longer than hers were, though, so it wasn't hard to keep pace. We reached the door to the Charms classroom at the same time. I opened it and held it for her, but she didn't thank me as she walked by.

"Miss Weasley, Mr. Malfoy, welcome," Professor MacMillan greeted us when we appeared in the doorway. "Please have a seat." He wouldn't even question us as to where we were coming from or why we were late. We were just trusted by every staff member.

I glanced around the room, seeing my friend Eric sitting with the Ravenclaw twin, Lysander. Rose looked around and found all of us occupied too. There were only two seats left, at the back desk. I sighed and plopped down, and Rose joined me, looking angrily to the side and pulling out her Standard Book of Spells.

We both flipped open to the same pages that the rest of the class were skimming, learning how to make chairs waltz with each other.

"The brush step is essential," Professor MacMillan informed us all as we rose from our seats to attempt this action. It was partner work, which meant Rose Weasley and I had to work together, not compete. It wasn't that difficult, to be honest, the whole waltz thing. Rose and I had our chairs doing double time, spins and dips before the rest of the class could get theirs moving in a somewhat joined fashion.

"Ten points to Gryffindor, ten points to Slytherin," Professor MacMillan declared. No one was surprised.

I tossed my robe so that it was hanging off the edge of the desk. It was one hundred degrees in the classroom. Loosening my tie, I rolled up the sleeves to my shirt and looked at Rose to the side of me. She too had abandoned the robe aspect of life and was just standing before me in her pleated skirt and blouse. I wondered if she had any idea the impact she had on a school full of adolescent boys.

I actually had to remind myself about Rachel. My "girlfriend." That was definitely a title made by the rest of the school, not me. Not her. Rachel was just content because I was attractive, she was attractive, and we both got what we wanted out of that relationship. Girlfriend was probably not the right word. That probably required an ounce or so more of compassion and fondness. While Rachel and I, when we weren't kissing each other for the heck of it, were at each other's throats.

Then again, Rachel probably wouldn't care at all if I cheated on her with my eyes. She did the same thing every single day last year to James Potter, and now she was more focused on Lorcan Scamander. But then again, most of the female population of Hogwarts was after Lorcan or Lysander. Or me, but I pretended not to believe that for the most part.

"What's your schedule like?" I asked, making pleasant amiable conversation.

"Identical to yours, I'm sure," she said, holding out the small piece of parchment.

I took it from her and compared it to mine. Of course it was. Absolutely identical.

"Lovely," I said, shaking my head and passing it back.

"We have our eyes on the Qudditch cup," she informed me.

"I do too," I replied right back.

"May the best man win," she said.

"Good thing I'm the only man here," I said.

She rolled her eyes at me and shook her head, clearly repulsed by me. I was pretty okay with that though, because of how repulsed by her I was. Despite how hot she was, showing off her long summer-tanned legs. I tried to look away. Nope. There was no denying that Rose Weasley was one of the major beauties of the school.

Scorpius tried to ignore her as she lifted herself onto the desk and stretched out on her back.

'What are you doing?" Albus demanded, interrupting as he waltzed across the room. I knew Albus Potter pretty well. Mostly because he was probably the most well-liked guy in school, and he didn't give a shit whose house was whose. He spent a lot of time drifting from common room to common room, in fact, perhaps the most indifferent of all of us. I didn't mind him very much. He was a smart guy, nice, but he walked in the shadow of a lot of things—then again didn't we all?

But still. He had an older brother who was a legend in this school, a trouble maker. James Potter (the second). And then there was the fact that his father was Harry Potter and that sort of had its own little impact. His mother was an amazing chaser, and his cousin was downright brilliant.

I sort of felt sorry for him. My only issue was that my father was once a Death Eater

And I couldn't kick the scrawny—albeit well-formed—ass of Rose Weasley.

"Absolutely nothing," I replied. Al nodded, running a hand through his jet black hair.

"Right," he said. "I heard something about Quidditch. Just so you know, Malfoy, your team is honestly going down."

"Right," I scoffed, rolling my eyes. With that scrawny twig seeking, Gryffindor didn't have a chance.

Then again, they did have the best chaser in the entire school. Damn talented Weasley blood.


	3. Chapter 3

Rose:

I looked at the assembled hopefuls in front of me. Al stood by my side, already guaranteed his place as seeker on my team. The rest of last year's team was waiting to be tried again, though I was already fairly certain I knew who my team would be.

It was a relatively atrocious day for this. The sky was solid gray, like slate, and shot down the occasional sleet bead, and bullets of rain that smacked against everyone's faces. The pitch let out muddy squelching noises when people walked across it, and my boots were soon plastered with mud. But I told myself not to reschedule. If they couldn't play in the rain, they couldn't play at all.

"All right," I said, clearly my throat as I whipped my hair back into a ponytail. "You all know me. I'm Rose Weasley. I'm you captain this year. Anyway, I'm looking for two chasers, two beaters, and one keeper. I'm your third chaser. And Albus here, who will be helping me with trials, is your seeker. How about you break into groups based on what you're interested in, and then we'll take it from there?"

Jessie Wood and three others split into the keeper pile. Lucy and my cousin Lily were among the hopeful chasers, along with several people I had hoped dearly after flying lessons, had never ridden a broomstick again. Beaters, whom I really needed one of, consisted of my cousin Fred, a fifth year with Lily, and a bunch of other guys, including one who made Rose blush every time she saw him.

His name was Mike Finnigan. Despite the fact that he was a year below us, I had known him a very long time, as my parents occasionally visited with his parents, Seamus and Susan. Some odd trait in his Irish dominated jeans gave him pitch dark black hair, which was longer and floppier than Al's or even James's was. He had icy blue eyes and a good smile. And he was fit, definitely, gorgeously, beautifully, fit.

He smiled once at me from where he stood, and my face erupted into crimson blush. But at least his Irish jeans came to play somewhere, and he broke into blush too.

"Now that the two of you are done making googly eyes as each other, we might want to start trials so we're not here until four in the morning. Some of us have lives," Al chipped in.

I glared at him and tried to shake the blush from my cheeks. "All right. I'm going to take your names, the position you're interested in, and then I'm going to divide you into small pseudo teams and see how you work. But I'll be eliminating people gradually until I have the team I want. All right?"

They started off with simple laps around the pitch, which resulted in a speedy elimination of half of the people who were eager to become chasers. I let them run some drills, with Jessie and the other keeper wannabes took turns blocking their hopes. Jessie's father, the once-great keeper of Puddlemere United had most certainly worn off on her. She was head and shoulders above the rest. I sent the other three keepers back to the castle. So our team was three seventh years so far.

When the chasers continued shooting back and forth until I let Lily and Lucy on the team. They watched from below as Al and I flew through the beaters, hoping to narrow them down as they whipped their bats around and sent bludgers flying in god awful directions, at innocent spectators.

My cousin Fred was good, so I pulled him onto the team, and then finally, Mike Finnigan. Albus claimed that Ella Thomas was better than him, but I disagreed. Ella was too petite to be a beater and didn't have enough force behind her. So I overruled Al. The captain's badge was on my chest, not his.

All in all, it was a pretty Weasley/Weasley relative dominated team. Al was seeker, I was Chaser with Lily, and Lucy, Fred was beater, and then we had Mike as beater and Jessie as keeper. But that was what happened when Gryffindor was run through with Weasley blood so thick that it was difficult to find someone in there who wasn't somehow connected to the Weasley family by blood.

"All right guys, and ladies, I guess," I said, looking around at my team. "Practice schedules will be posted on the board in the common room soon. I need at least twenty-four hours notice if you're schedule interferes with our practice schedule. "

They all nodded and we traipsed as a team into the locker room. Modesty was not something that came with a Quidditch team. The girls would strip all the way down to their bras in front of the guys, and the guys all the way down to their boxers. It wasn't that hard for us Weasley's to deal with, because we were so close to our cousins anyway, that weird things had happened before. And Jess had been on the team before, so she was pretty used to it anyway—despite the fact that she had to look away every time she saw Al down to his underwear, because she had such a crush on him.

Mike didn't seem to mind that much about the changing thing, and I tried not to be flaunty as I walked past him to get in the showers. I heard him follow me, in nothing but his boxers and I kept my blushing face on the prize—hot water.

"I think you'll be a great captain," Mike said when we were both safely in separate shower stalls.

"Well thanks," I said.

'it's a very Weasley-full team, isn't it?" he wondered.

"Yeah,' I said. "But it's in our blood."  
"That's true," he agreed. "Did all of your uncles and aunts play?"

"All of them if they were original Weasleys, except for my Uncle Percy, Lucy's dad. But her mum, Audrey played in the US before she moved here."

"Definitely in the blood," he agreed, his voice sort of garbled by the water.

"But dad says your dad played a little too…" I said.

"Your uncle had him as an alternate," Mike replied. "But he was only bitter then. He says he was rubbish anyway."

"I'm sure he wasn't rubbish," I said. 'You have to get the talent from somewhere."

"Mum's family sure doesn't have it," he said, laughing little.

"Maybe it's just god-given then," I said.

He laughed. "Well thanks."

Scorpius:

Rachel was sprawled on her back on my bed, her long arms stretched above her head.

"You're hot," she informed me, when I stripped my t-shirt off and stood in front of her in just my jeans.

"Well thanks," I said, looking down at her. "So are you."

I slipped onto the bed next to her and pressed my nose into her neck. She twisted her arms around me and slid her fingers around the waistband of my jeans.

This was my relationship with her. She was really more like best friend, but we were both extremely horny seventeen-year-olds that needed _someone _to make out with—among other things.

"How're things going with you and Lysander?" or was it Lorcan that she liked?

"Lorcan," she said. "Things aren't going anywhere. What about you?'

"What about me?" I wondered.

"And her?" she said.

"Who the hell is her?" I said, completely confused.

"Rose," she said.

"Huh?" I said, completely confused.

"Come on, Scorp. Who is it you picture when you're shagging me?" she demanded.

I thought about that for a moment. "You picture Lorcan?"

"Lately, yes," she said.

"Hmm," I said, rolling away from her and flopping onto my back to look at the black stone ceiling.

"You can't tell me you don't see her," she said. "It's the way you look at her when she's around. Like you can't believe that someone that pretty ever walked the halls of Hogwarts."

"But I can't deal with her," I said. "She needs to be less… obnoxious."

"No, she needs to fall behind you in the class, and that's not going to happen, genius," she said.

I sighed. "I hate her."

"You don't hate her," she said. "You're threatened by her. And you don't like being threatened—by anyone. But she's a Weasley girl and that makes it that much more unbearable for you."

I sighed. "Right."

"You know it's the truth," she said.

"I can't like her, Rachel," I said. "She's not the right sort for me."

"Because she's a half-blood and your father would never approve?" she wondered.

"My father doesn't care about that shit anymore," I said, standing up and going to the bedside table for a glass of water.

"But he never really liked Granger or Weasley," she said.

"That doesn't mean he still feels that way. And would hate their daughter too," I snapped, chugging back the glass quickly.

"Uh huh," she said. "Right… well then what's standing in your way?"

"The fact that I feel nothing for her," I replied.

"Is that the truth, Scorp?"

"Of course it's the truth, Rachel," I said.

"Right," she said. "Well how does this make you feel then? I saw her getting quite close with Mike Finnigan at dinner tonight."

I glared at her. "Shut up."

She laughed a little. "Yeah. Right. Come back here, okay? I'm bored.'  
I sighed and dropped onto the bed again, flat on my back.

She leaned over the top of me, unbuttoning my jeans. She lifted her shirt over her head so she was just straddling my legs in her skirt and bra. I slid out of my jeans, and she started in with her hand in the way she knew very well. Rachel was very talented. I closed my eyes and sighed contently.

"Who did you picture?" she demanded, falling onto her back next to me.

I thought about it for a moment, even though I knew perfectly well.

"Scorp?" she said, her tone impatient and accusing. I sighed and looked over at her. Her chest was moving up and down, still a little ragged. Her hair was fanned out behind her, dark and glossy. It would have been all right if she was the one on my mind. She was gorgeous. And yet…

"Rose," I said. "But that doesn't mean. I feel anything for her, other than stupid, animalistic human attraction."

"Sure," she said. "Of course."

She laughed a little, and I rolled away from her, looking at the opposite side of the dormitory. It was still empty, cold, and quiet. Most of my mates were probably in the common room, drinking their smuggled alcohol—we Slytherin kids were kind of partiers—and avoiding our dorm. We had the traditional code: you didn't enter the dormitory if there was a green and silver tie tied tightly around the doorknob. Admittedly, my ties had been through the most, undoubtedly. But I wouldn't say I was the only perpetrator by any means.

"If it's any consolation, I didn't want to like Lorcan either," she informed me.

I rolled back over to glare at her. "Yeah but your parents and Lorcan's parents didn't want to kill each other during their years at Hogwarts."

"But your Dad and the Potters and Weasleys get along really well now," she contradicted. "Your dad doesn't care that much about blood purity anymore… I mean, I don't think he _loves _Hermione Granger, but from what I gather he doesn't hate any of them. Especially Potter, shocking as that sounds.'

"No, I know about Potter," I said. "Dad appreciates him, thanks him, respects him. All of that."

"And you get along fine with Albus," she said. "I wouldn't say you and James were best mates…"

"James and I liked to hex each other in the hallways," I pointed out.

"But if a younger student tried to get either of you, you would quickly band together," she added.

"That is true," I allowed.

"So who is to say that Weasleys and Malfoys cannot get along? Your grandparents, perhaps, never got along, but that was more of your grandfather's fault if I do say so myself."

"No, I know it was," I said, stretching my hands above my head.

"So Rose Weasley," she said. "Perhaps you should just start by not trying to kill her all of the time?"

"Well… I suppose that would _probably _work," I agreed.

"You just have to try,' she said. "Look, Scorp. I know you want her. Know why?"

"Uh… no," I said.

"Because you said her name," she offered.

I thought for a moment. "I did?" I was usually pretty mute, unless I was hissing exceedingly… dirty… things at Rachel. And they weren't usually terms of endearment and things you would say to someone you weren't horribly comfortable with. Probably not even with someone you actually loved. But Rachel was little more than a shagging partner, and we enjoyed saying exceedingly crude things to each other. Anyway, this was something I never did—names. I couldn't even remember this one…

"Yes," she said, shaking her head. "I think you were a little dazed at that point, anyway, so I don't know… But you said it."

"Oh lord…" I said.

"You said that too," she said. "After her name. And then you said her name again. And then you shut up."

I sat up. "I didn't!"

"Mmm, yeah you did," she said. She picked lazily at the threads winding loose from my sheets, aloof, as if this wasn't a conversation that was absolutely appalling to me or anything.

"I don't fancy her," I said quickly. "I just find her attractive."

"You find me attractive too," she said. "But you don't say my name. Ever. Which is okay with me, because I don't say yours either—too much of a mouthful."


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: I'm not sure if anyone's noticed... I have three fics going at once, because I have no attention span. My biggest focus is my other, longest one. So this is sort of back burner. I have no idea where it's going. So bear with me, please! Thank you! **_

Rose:

"He's looking at you," Jessie whispered, causing me to jump nearly twenty feet out of my chair. I had just gotten all settled with my hulking NEWT Potions book and I was about to write a charmingly witty and quite sarcastic essay documenting stuff that I actually didn't care about—even though I probably should.

"What?" I said, trying to resteady myself and gain back some control in my position in the squashy armchair by the comfortable fire.

"Mike," she murmured, leaning over from her chair. She was supposed to be writing the same essay but she appeared to have giving it even less thought than I had. Her parchment had a very detailed drawing of a Kelpie.

"That's wonderful,' I grumbled, turning back to my essay. I sucked absently at the end of my quill, swinging it gently through the air, thinking.

"Oh come on!" she said. "You can't tell me you aren't flattered… Rose, he's _fit."_

"Thank you," I said. "Thank you so much for pointing that out."

I turned back to my essay, dipping my quill in the ink bottle that was bewitched to just hover in the air right where I needed it. Jessie sighed and turned back to her Kelpie drawing, embellishing a little here and there, yawning dramatically. Lucy walked by and nearly knocked over my well and just rolled her eyes.

"Guess what!" Albus said, appearing at my shoulder. It was almost my turn to knock over the bottle.

"Jesus H. Christ!" I said, turning around and glaring heatedly at him. He sat down on the floor in front of my chair, crossing his arms.

"You ought to guess," he suggested.

"What?" I demanded.

"Good enough," he said leaning back, his hands behind him. Jessie looked interestedly over at him, at the fact that his black t-shirt was pulling up over his stomach, his dark hair falling in his eyes. Very debonair. If he wasn't my cousin, I probably would've had a thing for him.

"Go ahead," I said, just rolling my parchment up with my wand and giving up. It was only a Friday night after all.

"Mike Finnigan is going to ask you to Hogsmede," he declared, nudging me with the toe of his boot. I looked down at him.

"Get your filthy shoes away from me," I said.

"Christ," he said. 'What's your damage, Weasley?"

Jessie laughed, almost tumbling out of her chair. "Did you honestly just use the words "what's your damage?'"

He ignored her and looked up at me. "Elaborate, Rosie. Why is a Hogsmede date that unappealing, I ask you?"

"It's not," I said. "I don't need everyone else conveying all of this stuff to me. Thank you."

"Why not?" Lucy demanded, sitting next to Albus and wrapping her arms around her legs. "You don't seem to notice otherwise.'  
"I always got the impression that her mind was elsewhere, actually," Jessie said. "On some_one _else."

"Huh?" I said, looking down at her.

"You and Malfoy," Lucy said simply.

I looked at Jessie, and saw that she wasn't actually arguing.

"Excuse me?" I said. "Malfoy? Scorpius Malfoy? Are you high, Lu?"

"No!" Lucy said. "it's just the way the two of you act together…"

"Al!" I said, looking beseechingly at my closest companion. "Back me up, here."

"I kind of noticed it too," he admitted. "It's the way you talk around him. You want to best him, but you want to impress him too. You flaunt yourself in front of him, stick out your chest, swing your long legs around… Stuff you don't do in front of other guys—even Mike."

I rolled my eyes. Traitor. "I don't do anything like that."  
"Yes you do," Al said, shaking his head. He looked up at Jessie, who was no longer looking at him, much to his dismay.

"I don't," I said, crossing my arms.

I sent my stuff spiraling into my bag and glared at them. "You're just doing this to grate on me. I would never… Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy? Honestly?"

"Hyperion?" Al said. "Awesome. I'm definitely using that against him."

"You're not even enemies!" I said.

"No, but we're not best friends either," Al replied, grinning maliciously. He flopped onto his back on the rug, stretching his long arms dangerously close to the fireplace.

"If anyone should be using anything against him, I should," I grumbled. "I just want to grind him into the dirt—in academics and Quidditch."

"I think she just wants to grind him, actually," Lucy said.

I stared at her. Sweet, innocent Lu… whose father was my Uncle Percy. He would've died of a heart attack if he heard that.

"That's horrible," I said. "I don't. He's… _Malfoy. _My parents hated his father in school! He called my mother a mudblood! And he always talked badly about my father… and he hated Uncle Harry just as much, though I think more."

"That was _before _the war," Al contradicted. "This is after the war. Well after, Rose. They get along all right now, you know that. My Dad and his Dad and your dad. And our mums really like Astoria… She's a sweetheart, you know that."

"But Draco Malfoy was a Death Eater!" I hissed.

"Obviously," Albus said. "Thank you for contributing that piece of unknown, newly discovered information." He leaned forward a little. "He was only like that because of his father. And that good for nothing piece of garbage went straight to hell after Azkaban. And you know that. But his son can be different. If you don't believe that for Draco, at least believe it for Scorp. He's a good kid. Has he ever given you an indication that he's got an ounce of dark blood inside of him, Rosie?"

I sighed deeply. "I suppose not."

"But," Albus said. "I'm just saying… if you don't like Malfoy, go to Hogsmede with Mike. Whatever you want, really. You know us. We just want the best for you."

"Right now, what I _want _is a bath," I said, heaving myself up and heading upstairs to grab my things and head to the Head Girl and Boy's baths. Mike cornered me just as I got to the bottom of the stairs the led up to the girl dormitories. I was armed with my bag of shower things, as well as my pajamas, which were draped over my arm.

"Hey, Rose," he said, blushing and sort of looking at the space above my left shoulder, not at my face.

"Hi, Mike," I said, laughing a little.

"I was… um wondering if you wanted to… uh go to Hogsmede with me?" he wondered.

"Sure," I said, smiling. "Now if you'll excuse me. The wonderful Head Girl bathroom is calling me."

I left him standing there, sort of dumbstruck, a little quiet. I walked out into the corridor, heading toward the bathroom. I uttered the password and walked right in, through the little entrance seating area, pushing open the second door, which let me through easily and quickly.

Only I wasn't alone in there. Scorpius Malfoy was swimming, relatively—completely—unclothed down the length of the pool. He, swimming on his back—oh yes, his back—jumped like a flying fish, into the air.

"What the hell are you doing, Weasley?" he demanded, attempting to conceal himself with the water.

"Sorry! It let me in!" I said, jumping to attention rapidly and darting out of the main part of the bathroom. I settled, my heart racing, into a chair. Well he was _attractive _wasn't he? God I'd heard rumors about how Scorpius Malfoy sort of looked like a Greek god, extremely chiseled, hot. And all of the rumors were true. I would want to be his girlfriend, just so I could look at that every single day. I could deal with that.

The door to the main room swung open quickly, and Scorpius was standing there in just his jeans, nothing else.

"How did it let you in?" he demanded, tugging his t-shirt over his head quickly. He shot his wand at his hair, drying it but not combing it so it stood on distressed ends. Very attractive, damn it.

"I don't know," I said. "It just did."

"Dear god," he said. "I'm talking to McGonagall."

Scorpius:

Weasley was on my heels as I hurried down the hallway in the direction of the headmistress's office. I was furious. I was all for the motto "If you've got it, flaunt it" but I didn't really need to be flaunting _all _of it. In front of Weasley, no less! That was… relatively embarrassing.

I spat the password at the gargoyle and hopped on the staircase, with her still right behind me. I could feel her breathing on my bck through the t-shirt. She made me shudder with her breath, standing so close to me.

She followed me right through the door and I plopped into the chair in front of the desk.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" Professor McGonagall wondered softly.

"There is a malfunctioning with the bathroom," I said strictly. "It let her in while I was bathing."

McGonagall's eyebrows shot up, and she laughed.

"I don't find this funny," I said, glaring at her.

"I can't stop it," McGonagall said. "Like the Room of Requirement, this room knows things about your mind's needs and wants. It has had a history of opening its door at inconvenient times for Head Boys and Girls who have an undeniable attraction for each other." I looked at Rose and nearly vomited.

"I know it happened with Lily and James Potter, several times," McGonagall said. "It was what convinced her to go out with him, finally. Though I don't know if either of you are that familiar with the lives of Lily and James the first. And it has happened with several groups of people since."

Rose made a face. "Undeniable attraction?"

"Exactly what I was thinking," I said, making a face too.

"I'm not a huge fan of this," Rose said. "because I don't believe it."

"The bathroom is really very rarely wrong," McGonagall said, shaking her head gently, and laughing a little.

"I'm not all that keen on the idea that a bathroom thinks it knows my mind, you know," I said, crossing my arms. I glared at Weasley out of the corner of my eye.

"I'm not either," Rose seconded.

"Oh your own decisions are up to you, of course, but there's attraction," McGonagall said. "Apparently. Perhaps, I suppose, it could be because competition is attractive."

"Not when no one ever loses," I grumbled and Rose nodded her head in agreement.

"But I think it's almost strange how the one thing you can agree on is this bathroom's lack of ability. Or the lack that you would like to believe it has."

Rose made a face, clearly biting her tongue.

I just said, "Lovely."

"I suggest you two calm down and come up with a system of warning," McGonagall said. "To prevent each other from interrupting your baths. Because I will not condone coed bathing, but nor am I willing to issue the creation of another bathroom. That bathroom has been in the school since its founding."

"Right…" I said. "Wonderful."

"I'm not happy about it either," Rose informed me, standing up. "Thank you professor."

"You're welcome, Miss Weasley," McGonagall said. "I shall see you later. Good evenings to both of you."

"Thank you," I said, following Weasley out the door.

"Are you done in the bathroom?" she demanded stiffly as we walked in the direction from whence we had come moments before.

"Yes," I said. "But I left my bag there, so I have to go back."

"All right," she said, walking in silence. She muttered the password aggressively and we both stomped inside the bathroom and deeper into the room. I flicked my wand and shut the door behind both of us, causing her to look up from where she was bending to fill the massive pool with her choice of taps.

"What are you doing?" she wondered.

"An eye for an eye," I said simply. Not just for the reason that I was pissed. I was angry beyond belief at the fact that she had seen me in nothing but my choice of bathing suit—nothing. But there was also the reason… I was seriously attracted to her—in an animalistic way. Perhaps that was what the room was reading in my head. The fact that I was so physically attracted to her.

"What do you mean by that, Malfoy?"

"I mean take your shirt off," I said, crossing my arms.

"Excuse me?" she demanded, standing up completely straight and glaring at me.

"Come on, Weasley, just do it," I said, rolling my eyes.

She narrowed her eyes at me. "What sort of girl do you think I am? For Christ's sake… Get the hell out of here."

I looked at her for a moment. "What kind of girl do I think you are?"

"Yes," she said. "I'm not a slut like you're used to, Malfoy."

"Could've fooled me," I said simply.

"Where on earth did you get _that _idea?" she demanded.

"I've heard things," I said.

"They're lies," she hissed.

"So you're a virgin?" he said simply.

"No," she growled.

"Take your damn shirt off, Weasley. I won't even make you ditch the bra. Fair is fair though. I can't have you going about me. You saw me, now I get to see you."

She narrowed her eyes. "Pig."

"I don't cringe at that," I said, shrugging.

"Get out of here," she spat.

"I'm not leaving," I said.

"I'm not doing anything for you," she said. "You're disgusting. What do you even think you're doing…?"

And then I was across the room, and I was kissing her.


	5. Chapter 5

Rose:

To this day, I'm not exactly sure what he was doing. But suddenly I was pinned between the cool stone walls of the bathroom, and the warm, fresh smelling body of Scorpius Malfoy.

"What the hell are you doing?" I demanded against his furious lips. I shoved my hand against his chest, getting enough space in between us that I could fumble for my wand. He had his lips pressed against mine, sucking against my lips.

I hexed him. I didn't know what else to do. I sent a stinging jinx right at his chest, causing him to jump back as if I'd electrocuted him.

"What the hell are you doing, Weasley?" he demanded.

"I think I just asked you that," I said, holding my wand in front of myself. Scorpius Fucking Malfoy. Seriously, he was going to find himself flat on his back on the floor, and certainly not because we were having sex down there, but because I had hexed him until he couldn't move.

"Weasley, you need to relax," he said. "I'm not going to rape you."

"You sure are acting like it," I accused. "'Take your shirt off' and then kissing me and what the hell?"

"Maybe I just find you shockingly attractive," he said, shrugging. "I don't exactly love you as a person Weaslebee, but you're hot."

I crossed my arms. "That's disgusting."

"I am a pig after all," he said simply, grinning sort of wickedly.

"I don't find this amusing, so wipe that arsehole smirk off of your face, how about?" I suggested.

"You don't find it funny?" he said. "Wow. I find it fun, at least.'  
"You're perverted, so I don't count your opinion," I said, holding my wand out again.

"What, are you going to duel me, Weasley? They're going to have to wipe you off the floor when I'm done."

"Is that a challenge?" I demanded.

"Only if you want it to be," he said, shrugging again. "You could just admit you're attracted to me too."

"I could," I allowed. "But I'm not going to."

"All right then," he said, drawing his wand too. He flicked it silently through the air, and a shower of silver sparks flew out of it. He grinned and then backed up, readying himself. I shot a curse first, firing it so that it skimmed the side of his cheek, drawing a streak of red, angry welt across it. He waved his wand at it and it vanished quickly.

"You can do better than that," he accused.

"Yes, but I don't think it would go over all that well if I killed you," I said sweetly, shooting another spell at him. He deflected it easily. I was barely trying. He wasn't either. He shot me a spell, which bounced off of my shield quickly, flying back at him. He deflected that one too.

"You couldn't kill me if you wanted to, Weasley," he said, shaking his head. "You're too… good."

"And you're not?" I said.

"I have bad blood in my veins," he said simply. "They all expect me to be bad."

"Why live up their expectations?" I questioned.

"I don't," he said. "Do you think if I lived up to them, that I would be standing in this room? Do you think I would be Head Boy? I want this even more than you wanted yours, Weasley. I want to prove them wrong."

"See… and the whole time, I'm here, trying to prove them right," I said. "See, the expectations of coming from Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger are quite high. They expect wit, and bravery, and intelligence, and skill, and talent, and…"

"They expect me to be bad, and dark, and a Death Eater," he said. "Like my grandfather. Like my father was… before."

I lowered my wand as he lowered his too, so that it hung from his hand. I sighed.

He walked closer to me again, and I ended up close to the wall, backing away from him.

"Just hold still, will you?" he wondered, reaching out and touching my cheek. He breathed a sigh, closing his eyes.

"Bloody hell," he growled.

I took his shirt in my hands and pulled him close to me, so our lips were mere centimeters apart.

"I want to hate you," I said.

"The feeling's mutual," he said, kissing me again. I kissed him back this time, furiously crushing our lips together. He pinned me against the wall, arms on either side of my head.

"But that doesn't mean I don't want you," I murmured.

"Mutual too…" he said, pulling me even closer, his hand wandered presumptuously down my shoulder, toward my breasts. I shivered gently.

"I want you," I said.

"I've wanted you for a long time," he said.

I put my hand in the middle of his chest and shoved him away.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"I'm not going to shag you," I informed him.

"Why not?" he hissed.

"Because I'm not a slut," I said.

"I won't tell anyone if we change that," he said simply, his lips at my ear.

I closed my eyes. "I don't believe you."

"Why not? Am I not trustworthy?"

"Haven't you been plotting my demise since the beginning of our first year?" I questioned.

"Not any more than you have been plotting mine," he returned, his hand on the small of my back, drawing me in. He started to kiss my neck, his tongue running over my skin.

I pulled away again, back against the wall. He looked up at me with fire in his eyes. "Rose…"

"Rose?" I questioned.

"That's your name, isn't it?" he demanded.

"I thought it was Weasley to you," I accused.

He rolled his eyes and backed away from me. "You're a tease."

"I am not," I said.

"Yes you are," he said. "A tease. See you around, Weaslebee."

I pursed my lips. "Arsehole."

Scorpius:

I stomped into my common room—yes it was _mine. _And I clomped right up to where Rachel was sitting with all of her friends.

"Is your dorm empty?" I demanded.

She looked up. "Why?"

"Because I want to… talk… to you," I said. Her friends rolled their eyes. Rachel stood up, abandoning her Exploding Snap. She put her hand in mine and pulled me down the tunnel of a hallway to the seventh year girl room.

"Out, Flint!" she barked at the girl in the corner bed. The girl looked up, glared at the two of them, and whisked out of the room.

"What is this?" Rachel demanded. "Are you horny or something?"

"I was with Weasley," I said. "She interrupted my bath because apparently the bathroom can read your deepest innermost soulful thoughts and thinks Weasley and I are destined for each other. And we were kind of talking and I ended up kissing her, and now I'm really, really, horny."

"Well that sort of sucks," she said. "What did she say when she kissed you."

"That she wants to hate me, but wants me in general, but wasn't going to shag me," I said.

"Oh she's fun, isn't she," she said, laughing brightly.

I glared at her. She was not making my life any easier. She just through her dark head back and laughed at my issues. She was such a sweetheart. Whatever man ended up with her had his work cut out for him, I could say that much. But then again, I supposed the same went for the likes of Rose Weasley. I would probably chuck myself off the Astronomy tower before settling down with her, in all honesty. She would be a handful—mostly because she was smart, which meant she could usually argue pretty damn well, as I'd discovered. I wasn't saying I wanted a stupid woman… just perhaps one a little less skillful at getting her way all of the time.

"Oh yes, she's a joy," I said, rolling my eyes. "Do you want to shag or what?"

She yawned, looking at the thin silver watch on her wrist. "Oh I suppose I have the time. Just try to keep quiet this time, will you? It's damn near impossible to enjoy myself when you're shouting your head off, dear lord."  
She flicked her wand at the door, setting a silencing charm. It sealed itself and I pulled my shirt over my head.

"We're really getting slutty," Rachel commented.

"Nah," I said. "Sluts have multiple partners. You're the only one I've got. We just have a frequency problem."

"I think it comes with the territory of being a teenager… that makes sense," Rachel said, stripping her tank top off. Her dark hair spiraled down her back. Yes she was hot. Definitely hot. I liked this.

She stretched out on her back, working at her belt and sliding that off, followed by undoing the button on her jeans. I sighed and climbed onto her bed, leaning in to kiss her neck and collarbone. She sighed deeply and started to work at my jeans.

We were mostly stripped down when the seal on the door was broken and we were interrupted. My friend Eric, who had figured out how to get around the spells keeping boys from the girl dorms long ago, had pushed his way inside. Rachel screeched and pulled the sheet up to her chest, scrambling to cover herself.

"What the hell are you doing?" I demanded, still leaning over the top of her, but slightly less needy at this point.

"Oh," he said. "I hadn't realized you were up to something. Right… well just so you know Albus Potter's here and he wants to talk to you."

I groaned. "Tell him to be patient."

"I'll tell him everything," Eric promised.

"Don't tell him were having sex, because we're not anymore!" Rachel said. "Arsehole."

Eric rolled his eyes and walked out of the room.

"What do you mean we're not having sex?' I demanded.

"He just ruined my mood," she declared. "Too bad for you."

I made a face. "Damn it."

"Have fun with your hand," she said, sliding out from underneath me and searching for her clothes.

I glared at her and rolled off the bed, finding my clothes. She disappeared into the bathroom, and I headed out to the common room, grumbling and knowing I was going to have a fun evening afterward. Damn girl.

"What do you want, Potter?" I demanded, finding Albus hanging with his Slytherin friends, kids in my year and lower . He was pretty good friends with Eric too, but for some reason, our names just made it impossible for us to fully hit it off and share any bonds.

"To talk to you about my cousin," Albus declared, leaning forward on the couch.

"Which one?" I wondered, knowing pretty well who he wanted to talk about.

"Rose," he said.

"What about her?" I demanded.

"You've fucked up her mind," Albus said."And I want to know why. She wants you, but she's got this other guy, who I personally feel better about… no offense… but I just want to know what you want with her."

"Nothing," I said. "Except to beat her this year, on something."

Albus narrowed his eyes ."I don't believe you."

"Well you ought to start believing," I said. "Because that's it. That's all."

"Then why did you make her all… screwed up. She's up in her dorm in inconsolable tears right now, and the only thing anyone could distinguish from what she was saying were the words "Arsehole, and Malfoy."

I raised my eyebrows. "She hates me too."

"She doesn't hate you," Albus contradicted.

"well… I don't know how to help you," I said.

"You're going to hurt her," Albus said. "And then we'll see who's a better dueler, Malfoy."

"Sure," I said. "We'll see."


	6. Chapter 6

Rose

I wasn't quite sure I was getting myself into with this Mike Finnigan. He was… and I hated to say it, too nice. As much as chivalry impressed me and all that, I didn't really like being viewed as mildly incompetent. And that was how he made me feel. He would offer to carry this for me and that for me the week after he invited me to Hogsmeade and the week after I made out with Scorpius Malfoy in our bathroom.

Needless to say, I felt relatively horrible in general because all of ten minutes after I had accepted Mike's date offer, I was gallivanting around in the bathroom pinned against a wall by one of my least favorite people in the world—I guy considerably less nice than Mike.

And yet, I kind of wanted to do it again, as horrible as that was.

Mike was walking me to Herbology, Friday, carrying my bag for me because apparently I couldn't do so myself. Jess said she hadn't realized I was such a feminist until I started griping to her every evening about how I didn't need my own mule and could easily levitate my stuff to follow after me if I felt incapable of carrying them.

Malfoy and his "girlfriend" were walking in the direction of the greenhouses too, his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows and his robe over his arm. She was carrying her own bag, not talking to him, but to one of her friends as he carried on a conversation with his friend, Eric.

We hadn't exactly spoken since our little episode of liplock in the bathroom. This was, I was admit, mostly due to my feelings about the whole thing. I felt like a horrible human being for what I was doing to Mike. I had promised him a date, and I wasn't going to be a slut to him until I had at least given him that. Then maybe I would go and shove my tongue down Malfoy's throat if the date went poorly. Which was a possibility.

But I hadn't exactly expected a golden retriever of a follower, loyal to the end. Honestly, I had no idea Mike liked me so much. Clearly I was horrible at interpreting the opposite sex—and that included Malfoy. And Albus was no help either. You would think I would have a built in interpreter with him, but he was just as vague as the rest, even to me, his own cousin.

One thing was safe though—Mike had not attempted to kiss me. That made things okay. I could just avoid that as long as possible.

I wasn't going to deny that he was attractive. Because he was. He was pretty bloody attractive. And yet… well something about him made him unattractive. He was sure of himself, but in a bad way, and he was very clingy, almost, like just saying I would go on a date with him was like… saying I would be his girlfriend forever and that he had to be my personal slave for life.

"Do you have your own personal pack mule now, Weasley?" Malfoy's voice cut through the air like a double-sided knife. I clenched my hands into fists, blush rising in my cheeks as Mike froze next to me.

"What do you want Malfoy?" he demanded.

"Mike, please,' I said. "Just ignore him."  
Mike looked down at me. "No."

"Mike…" I said.

"I just want to know why Weasley thinks she's so good she can have other people carry her things around for her. You see… Weasley and I are pretty similar, and yet, you don't see people carrying my things places," Scorpius drawled, making me physically nauseas.

"Just shut up, Malfoy," Mike said.

"Or what?" Malfoy demanded, twirling his wand around in his fingers. Threatening arse ferret.

"Or…" Mike struggled for a way to word this without getting himself flattened by Malfoy, who was easily the more talented duelist.

"Or I'll hex you until you're nothing more than a scuff mark on the floor in the entrance hall," I pointed out.

"God Weasley, you always want me to hex you, don't you?" Malfoy said, shooting a curse at me that blue my skirt up into the air. I shrieked at him and tried to hold it down. Jessie shot a spell that righted it so I didn't have to fumble for my wand with my favorite scandalous underwear hanging out for the entire male population of the seventh year NEWT Herbology class to see.

But it pissed Mike off quite a bit. Chivalry in his book clearly entailed defending my honor no matter ow stupid a move it would be.

"Are you actually going to fight me over this, Finnigan?" Malfoy demanded, laughing cruelly. He raised his wand to match it with Mike's.

"Dear god!" I said. Stomping to stand in between them, I kept my wand ready to put a shield charm in between them at a moment's notice.

"You're violating her," Mike informed him.

"She's violated me!" Scorpius said. "Fair is fair."

"How on earth did she violate you?" Mike demanded, raising his wand.

"Bloody Head bathroom won't work right and keep us out from each other's baths," Malfoy said, shooting a gentle spell that blew Mike's hair back. Just wind. And he didn't even so much as move his wand, his mouth or his gaze. Good magic, simple magic, but good nonetheless. But it sort of pissed Mike off. So he shot back, only a disarming spell, which Scorpius deflected easily with just a wave of his wand.

"Stop it!" I said, stepping in between them with my massive shield charm. "What are you doing? Good lord. How immature are you both? Malfoy, just… get over yourself. Mike… I can defend myself if I so choose."

I turned away from the both of them stomping into the greenhouse just in time for Professor Longbottom, head of Gryffindor, to come out and start yelling at Scorpius and Mike who had, as soon as my shield was down, started to shoot curses at each other again.

Scorpius:

Detention wasn't all that bad when it was with Professor MacMillan. He loved me. As much as my father, apparently, gave him hell in school, he couldn't help but adore me as one of his two most talented pupils. Detention with him was lines. And lines were easy when you could bewitch your quill to mimic your handwriting and write while you mostly just guided the quill across the page. No hand cramps. No nothing. Just sitting there letting my hand go back and forth for an hour while thinking about other more important things.

I sat in his office while he hummed to himself and planned lessons. The clock was going by slowly.

I was happy to have this detention. Mostly because just as Rose turned around, I hexed her little boyfriend so that his body twisted itself into a nice little uncomfortable pretzel twist of a shape. It didn't hurt him. It just was a laugh. And earned me two detentions and him one. But it was worth it. Mike Finnigan was an obnoxious blowhard. So I was happy to finally get him to just shut the hell up. Even if it meant wasting away two evenings of my life with my Charms professor.

Rachel just thought I was jealous because Rose was hanging out with Mike and not me. I told her I really couldn't care less, truth be told. Which was true. Rose Weasley could snog, shag, and torture whomever she wanted. I didn't really give a rat's arse. She could use Mike as her pack mule all she wanted. He was more than willing, I knew that much. And that was just great for him.

"You can go," Professor MacMillan said to me, grinning broadly and vanishing my parchment. I stood up, grabbed my bag, and headed out of the hallway. I wanted a bath, mostly because I needed to make myself happier at the moment. As content as I was with turning her boyfriend into a pretzel, I couldn't get Rose Weasley off of my mind.

I kind of wished I would interrupt her if I went to the bathroom. I just wanted to get her back for interrupting me. Seeing her red lacy underwear was honestly not enough for me. That and I was still attracted to her, and sadistically hoped she was ugly naked so I could relieve my mind of this constantly there, obnoxious throbbing neon sign that stood out in the back of my head. "ROSE."

It turned out she wasn't in the bathroom though, as I heard her just as I was rounding a corner. Her voice was coming out of one of the secret passageways, not sealed properly behind her.

'it's not that I don't like him… I just wish he would leave me alone," She muttered.

"So you're hiding from him in the secret passage?" Albus's voice questioned.

"Yes," she said. "I don't think he'd think to look here. So I can do my homework in peace."

"Uncomfortably in the dark?" Albus said.

"I contemplated going to the bathroom where there's a waiting area outside with a comfortable chair. But I haven't gotten the motivation to get up yet, and my foot's asleep," she explained. "Besides. It's not dark. Note the floating orbs, will you?"

"Oh yes, excuse me," Albus said. "Is he really so thick he wouldn't look here? I mean, I just _stumbled _across you."

"Yes, but you know about this one!" she said. "Hopefully he doesn't know about it."

"Rose…" Albus said. "Come on, why don't you really want to be around him? Just the other day, at trials, I thought you fancied him quite a bit."

"Oh I don't know," she said. "I just got to know him. And I didn't like it so much."

"It's about Malfoy isn't it?" he wondered.

"I don't know," she said. "He's just… constantly there.'  
"it's because you've always been fighting with him. Competition is attractive. It's nice to know that he can hold his own, I'm betting," Albus pointed out.

"That's what McGonagall said. Competition is attractive. And it is nice to know that he's not weak," she said simply. "But I would rather feed myself to the giant squid then attempt to settle down and have a real relationship with him. One of us would end up dead."

"It might be funny to see what sort of duel this whole thing culminates in," Albus mused for a moment.

"Hey!" she said. "I don't' find that funny at all."

"Right…" Albus said. "I have a quick question for you, friend to friend here, you know, cousinly happiness and all that…"

"Yeah?" she said.

"Do you want to fuck him or what?" he wondered.

"Albus!" she screeched, and I could hear a scuffle, a bang, and a very loud "Ow!" from Albus.

"Hey, no need to hex me, Rosie!" he said. "I'm just curious"

"It's none of your business!" she snapped.

"I don't know," he said. "I thought we were friends…"

"We are," she said. "You're my best friend, Albus."

"So, just because we're cousins, I can't ask you that?" he demanded.

"No… just because you're a guy," she muttered.

"Come on. Just tell me," he said.

"Fine," she said. "I would be okay with shagging him, yeah."

I laughed at that. This could be a fun time, I was pretty sure.

"You little slut," Albus teased her. "Not that I judge. Hogwarts is full of beneficial relationships."

"Ever had one?" she wondered.

He shrugged. "Kind of. With Emily?"

Emily was his Ravenclaw friend. She was very pretty, but I imagined them beating each other to death before actually delving into a relationship. Just from what I knew about Albus and Emily that was. And I'd seen them argue more than get along. Which sort of was like Rose and me. But a little animosity had to make things fun. So I just had to get her in my hands. And everything would be good.


	7. Chapter 7

**_A/N: A citrusy chapter. Don't read if you don't like. I'm sorry if it sucks, truly. It's not my best. _**

Rose:

Mike was, thankfully, not trying anything. We were walking the path down to Hogsmeade. I had my hands in the pockets of my jeans, to prevent them from behind held, and he was keeping a nice good foot in between the two of us. I could deal with that. I was pretty sure he was already seeing that this wasn't going well. Smart kid. He was just not getting the vibe from me anymore.

Quidditch was going to be awkward.

"Three Broomsticks?" he offered, pointing.

"Oh sure," I said. He chivalrously held the door open for me. I walked through into the steamy and crowded pub, finding us a table while he headed on a quest for butterbeer. I sat down at a table in the middle of the room—if we started snogging here, it would be horribly awkward for the rest of the world, which meant that hopefully he wouldn't try anything.

"Hey!" Jessie said, whisking past on the arm of one Lysander Scamander, whom she had a sort of on again, off again, beneficial Hogwarts relationship with. He was a heartthrob, but he was also a player. Lorcan was probably the nicer of the Scamander twins in that sense.

"Hey," I replied as the two of them settled quickly at a corner booth and began to eat each other's faces.

I was focused on a pair of third year girls attempting to make their bottles tap dance and failing miserably when someone pulled back the chair next to me, sitting awkwardly close, hot breath on my skin. I knew in an instant that it wasn't Mike, because Mike didn't smell like that. He didn't smell fresh, and clean, and so tempting. I turned my gaze to meet his icy eyes, flinching when they met mine more sharply than I had expected.

"Hello, Weaslet," he said, even the annoying nickname sounding good when coming through his lips.

"What do you want Malfoy?" I demanded tersely.

"You, among other things," he said, putting a hand on my shoulder tightly. "Are you here with Finnigan?"

"Why does it matter?" I wondered.

"Because," he said. "No one is in my dormitory but first years… and well my bed is open."

"What the hell are you talking about, Malfoy?" I demanded, my voice rising in octaves.

"I heard you talking with your cousin, Weasley. You wanna shag, let's fucking shag then," he said. "Ditch him and let's get back to the castle."

"Malfoy," I said. "Don't you have a girlfriend?"

"My relationshipwith Rachel is nothing," he said. "Don't worry about it. Certainly, do not let it stand in your way. If you want this, let's do it, nothing is holding me back, Rose."

"Malfoy, stop being an arsehole," I grumbled.

"I'll be waiting at the corner by the path up to the castle. If you're not there in ten minutes, don't expect me to wait," he said. "Join me if you want."

I sighed as he walked away, not sure what to do.

Mike sat down next to me before I could really think things through.

"What did Malfoy want?" he wondered, passing me a butterbeer.

"To be obnoxious," I informed him, taking a hefty drink.

We were silent for a moment. I looked at the clock ticking behind the bar.

"Mike?" I said.

"Yes?"

"I don't feel well," I said. "I think I need to go back to the castle."

"Oh!" he said, standing up quickly. He looked relieved.

"You don't need to walk with me," I said. "I'll be okay. I just need to lie down is all."

"Are you sure?" he said, reaching out one hand toward me.

"I'm sure, it's okay," I said.

"All right," he said. "I hope you feel better, Rose."

"Thank you," I said, nearly running out of the pub. I didn't know what I was doing, but my feet seemed to know.

Malfoy was leaning against the corner of a building at the end of the street, looking quite bad-arse.

"I knew you would come," he said, pushing off from the wall and walking briskly in the direction of the castle. I followed right behind him.

"I never said we were doing anything," I hissed, following him quickly.

He just laughed. "Weasley, Weasley."

"What?" I demanded.

"Naïve," he said, slapping me on the arse. I glared at him and picked up my pace. We stomped in tandem toward the castle.

"Where are you going?" I demanded as he started toward the dungeons.

"My dormitory," he said. "Where did you think we were going?"

"My dorm," I said.

He raised an eyebrow. "Fine. I'm not picky." He started quickly up the stairs. "Besides, it'll be nice to know the Gryffindor password."

I followed him again, beating him up the stairs quickly. We reached the portrait and I spat the password, which he noted easily in his head. He scrambled after me through the portrait hole, and followed me up the stairs, despite the wide eyes of the first and second years remaining in the common room with their homework.

"So this is the famous Weasel hole," he mused as we stepped through the doors.

"Shut up," I barked at him.

"Make me," he snapped. "This must be your bed…"

He pointed to the one across from us and walked over to it.

"How did you guess?" I demanded.

"I just had a feeling," he said, looking carefully at the bed. Then he whirled around and he had me pinned against the stone wall, aggressively kissing my neck. I gasped and wound my fingers into his hair, pulling his head up to kiss his lips.

"Damn it," I said.

He kissed me, his tongue battling with mine in my mouth. Eventually I gave up and let him win, making up for it by yanking on his hair.

"Damn is right," he said as he slid his hand down so that it was squeezing my breast.

"I don't like you," I told him.

"The feeling is mutual," he returned, his lips and tongue moving across my neck. And then he was nibbling on my collarbone, ripping at the front of my shirt. He had it off before I even noticed. Then he moved his hand to the waistband of my jeans, ripping them open and pulling them down, kissing down my thighs. I started in on the buttons of his shirt when he was up at my height. I yanked it off of him clawing at his bare chest while he kissed my neck aggressively. Both of his hands were on my breasts at his point.

One of them drifted down so that it was in between my legs.

"That was quick," he said. "You're wet, Weasley."

"Shut up," I spat, feeling his cock in my leg. "And you're hard."

He broke away from me to pull off his jeans, flopping onto his back on my bed.

"What are you doing?" I demanded.

"Get over here," he commanded.

" "Maybe I won't," I said. He snorted and put his hands behind his head, waiting. I groaned, unhooking my bra and climbing up on the bed.

"Get working," he snapped, nodding south.

"Excuse me?"

"You have to get me warmed up," he said, giving me a cocky grin. He pulled off his boxers, revealing his erection. I glared at him.

"You're joking," I said.

"What not big enough?" he wondered.

"That's not the problem," I said. "You're just an arse."

"thank you," he said. "Get to it, whore."

I grabbed him painfully snickering as I did. He flinched and glared at me.

"Call me a whore again, and I will break you," I warned him.

He just smirked and relaxed as I began to pleasure him.

After a moment of him groaning contently to himself, he sat up quickly and pinned me on my back, my head at the foot of the bed. Somehow he had my legs hooked over his shoulders. He slid a finger inside of me squeezing my breasts still. I groaned happily.

"Damn you," I grumbled clawing at his back aggressively, digging my nails into the skin.

He smiled viciously, biting at my neck.

"Why don't we get this over with?" I demanded as he brushed his thumb over my clit. He snickered in a very evil manner.

"Not so fast," he said, making me groan with how he was touching me. "I want to know how much you want me."

"Not that much, actually," I said, even though my body was screaming to have him fuck me now.

"Fine then," he said, sliding away so that he was nearer to my pillows.

"Damn," I cussed again, trying to keep my fingers from going downward and finishing this myself.

"Tell me if you want me, and I'll do it," he said simply, watching me.

"Do it," I said.

"I think you want it more than that," he said.

"Damn you!" I said.

"That's not very nice," he said, shaking his head.

"Do it," I said. "Please, please do it, Scorpius."

"Why?"

"Because," I said. "I need you to. I have to have you. Please, please do it. I want it."

My pride was suffering, and yet, for some reason, it was also bowing cordially to let him get his ego boosted. He grinned and slid over to me, pushing my legs again and pushing aggressively inside of me. I gasped.

"Oh my…" I groaned as he began to pull out and push back in. "Scorpius! Oh…"

"You're welcome," he said, moaning against my neck and trying to kiss me again, but finding it hard with the noises out of his mouth.

It didn't take long for us both to come. I very nearly screamed, muffling the noise against his shoulder as he came inside of me, clutching at my hair like if he didn't knot his fingers into it this instant, we were going to both die. Pleasure washed over me, causing me to sigh. He said my name once, actually Rose, not any variation of a horrible nickname.

Animal attraction.

"Damn," he said when he collapsed on top of me and I pushed him aggressively to the side.

"That was pretty good," I commented.

"Animal magnetism does that," he said, moving so that his head was on one of my pillows.

"I guess so," I said, shaking my head gently.

"Damn, Rose, look what you did to my back." He rolled over so that I could see the scratches I left on his skin. I blushed.

"Sorry, Scorpius," I said. It seemed we were on a first name basis at this point.

"Damn," he said, shaking his head. "That's your favorite word, isn't it?"

"I suppose," I said. 'It seemed fitting."

"fuck is also fitting," he pointed out.


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N: Sorry for the lengthy author's note that is to follow: for those wonderful people that have constantly read and kept up with one or more of my fics, I greatly apologize for my absence from ... i feel pretty bad about it. But I have an excuse- you can decide how valid it is: I'm writing an excessively complicated non-fanfic book currently. Not only is it a time suck, but it is also a brain power suck. It's three plots in one, so trying to focus on my three fics on top of that is relatively impossible. So I apologize for posting delays. **_

_**To my charming readers of After a Storm... Someone told me in a review that they didn't think Rose would take being forced to beg by Scorp lying down (no pun intended). And the truth is, she doesn't. See for yourself! Hope you enjoy this (will try to keep my head working on something)!**_

Chapter 8.

Scorpius:

I laughed a little as she wormed closer to me in her sleep, snuggling into my chest, putting her arms around me. For someone who didn't like me much, it was a very gentle expression.

I had to say, Rose Weasley was fun. I knew easily that she would come with me when I left the Three Broomsticks. I just had not known what would come after. She pressed herself against my chest breathing deeply. I gently touched her hair.

Suddenly the door swung open, and Rose's friend Jess Wood entered, followed briskly by Lysander or Lorcan—I decided Lysander, since I was pretty sure Lorcan didn't own a leather jacket. Rose stirred awake jumping at the noise, but Jess and Lysander did not seem to see us at all. He had her pinned on her bed quickly and his shirt was quickly on the floor.

"Um…" Rose said. "Shit, Jess!"

"Go away Rose!" Jess shouted. "Bye!"

I laughed and that was what finally made Jess break away from Lysander to look over his shoulder.

"Holy…" she said. "Scorpius Malfoy?"

"Yes," I said, laughing a little.

"Oh my god," Jess said as Lysander continued to kiss her shoulders, unfazed. "We're talking later. Now leave, please."

I laughed again and grabbed my clothes, pulling them on. Rose copied me, and things were getting heated between Lysander and Jess, so we rushed out. When we walked through the door, I was still pulling my t-shirt on, following it with my button down. Of course, we reached the common room looking quite disheveled, my buttons buttoned wrong and Rose's hair a haystack. Her younger brother, cousin Lucy and cousin Albus, were all staring at us. And so was Mike Finnigan. All of them had jaws at their knees, save for Albus who didn't seem to care in the least.

Rose ducked her head, ashamed as blush spread into her cheeks. She tried to walk by, and I followed briskly, just to be met with a punch to the face delivered by Mike.

Rose shouted, and I had my wand out before Mike could deliver another blow. I shot a spell at him, a body bind curse, and it hit him easily, knocking him flat on his back.

"I'm sorry," Rose told him gently. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

He glared at her, and he glared at me.

"Look, mate," I said. "Sometimes shit just happens."

"What the hell are you doing Rose?" Hugo demanded of her, grabbing her wrist.

"Shut up!" she barked at him, glaring and heading toward the portrait hole with Albus on our heels.

"Your parents are going to kill you," Albus informed Rose, as soon as the portrait hole closed behind them. The Fat Lady stared down severely at them, judging the conversation, and not looking pleased that a Slytherin had infiltrated her domain. Not that he hadn't been let in by a Gryffindor or anything.

"No they're not," Rose snapped. "Because any of my cousins that try to tell them, will find themselves on the end of some of my more nasty self-created hexes. Spread that around, will you?"

Al sighed and I couldn't help but laugh as he ducked back into the Gryffindor common room. I grinned maliciously. Rose tapped her wand on the side of her leg, lazily. I just shrugged that we ought to continue on and then she sliced it through the air quickly. I found myself glued to the wall, stuck solidly. She had a charming smirk on her face, somehow my wand in her hand.

"That's for making me beg," she said sweetly turning on her heel and waltzing down the corridor, holding my wand still.

And that was when I realized I was completely naked, my clothes piled neatly beside me. And I couldn't move an inch.

It didn't take very long for a terrified and mildly shocked first year Gryffindor girl to go and fetch a teacher as I grumbled loudly to myself. She was a good witch, and I was helpless in this situation without my wand. So I had been there for a while, at the mercy of most of the older Gryffindor students who giggled, the girls who measured me, and the guys who just snickered because I had pissed them off at some point or another.

The first year scurried back just as I was cussing out a particularly friendly sixth year girl. She had professor MacMillan in tow, and he immediately conjured a sheet to hover in my more sensitive areas while he worked to undo Rose's magic. Which he couldn't do.

I had to say it was some damn good magic if the fucking Charms teacher couldn't get it undone. But I was pissed. Weasley thought she was going to get away with this, but I was quickly going to show her otherwise. She wasn't going to be naked just outside of my common room, but in front of the whole school. Or something similarly humiliating. Either way, I was getting her back.

"Whose magic is this?" professor Macmillan demanded.

"Rose Weasley," I growled.

"My that girl is talented," he said, laughing. I glared at him. He turned to a random fourth year in the gathering that had formed to watch him try to free me. "Go find Rose Weasley, please, Miller, she needs to undo it herself."

I glared at the crowd. "Anyone that is still here in the next thirty seconds will find themselves in a much more compromising situation than this when I am free."

Most of the crowd flitted away, knowing I was completely serious, and knowing that I definitely posed a threat to them if they didn't leave me alone.

Rose Weasley sauntered down the hallway, looking beautiful. She smiled brightly at me.

"How can I help you professor?" she wondered sweetly.

"You can undo your magic," MacMillan told her.

"Oh this?" Rose said, looking at me with a malicious smile. "Mm… I didn't realize it was so strong."

"This is horribly inappropriate, Miss Weasley. Ten points from Gryffindor. And a detention with me tomorrow night. You ought to set a better example for your peers. Now, show me how to undo this fantastic bit of spellmanship."

Rose cracked another grin and demonstrated how to undo it, all while earning her fifteen points back to Gryffidor for her spell mastery. Finally I was free and clothed again, and MacMillan was conversing with Rose about how amazed he was by her work.

_Rose_

I was still being commended by Professor MacMillan when Scorpius grabbed me by the arm and ushered me swiftly away. After a warning from MacMillian, he said, "It's okay Professor, Rose and I are more than enemies." The Charms teacher raised an eyebrow, as Scorpius dragged me off.

"What the bloody hell was that?" he demanded, shoving me against a wall—not painfully, just confrontationally.

"I don't beg for sex," she said. "Especially not from little ferrets like yourself, Malfoy."

"It seems to me like you did," he pointed out.

"And that was why you were pinned to a wall in your birthday suit," I said cheerily.

"You're evil," he said.

"So are you," I said, giving him an intense glare.

"I like it," he said. "But I wasn't a fan of that."

"Well, to avoid a repeat of this incident, don't make me beg again," I said.

"As if you didn't enjoy it," he said.

I smiled again. "Beside the point."

He grinned leaned in, kissing my neck. "You're lucky, Weasley."

"And why is that?" I said.

"Because, much of the world longs to shag with me, shag me, be shagged by me…" he said. "And you're one of the select few to ever experience me."

I snorted. "You don't think too highly of yourself, now do you?"

He braided his fingers up into my hair, holding tightly. "Only because I know how good I am. I've been told."

"Arse," I said. I could tell he was mostly teasing though, and for some reason, he seemed so attractive to me at this moment.

"I know," he said. "As if I haven't heard that one before Weasley, really."

"I need a bath," I said.

"Wait," he said. "How did you do that charm?"

"As if I would show you, Malfoy?" I said, laughing. "You're crazy."

"I'll get it out of you when we have detention together on Monday," he said. "I'm still finishing my detention with MacMillan then. Some head boy and girl we are, really. Such outstanding examples."

"Yes," I said. "I agree."

He was quiet for a moment.

"I'm sort of sorry I pinned you to the wall. Naked." She said.

He chuckled at that. "I know you're actually not."

"Yes, at least we're in agreement on that," I said, shaking my head. I stretched up to viciously kiss him more or less biting his lip.

"You're very… evil," he said. "In a good way."  
"I'm also in desperate need of a shower," I said.

"You smell fine to me," he said, nibbling on my neck a little as he kissed me there.

"I'm sweaty," I said.

"Salty," he said. "Whichever way you choose to look at it."

"I hope you don't think I'm your girlfriend now," I said carefully.

"And here I was, worrying that you would want me to be your boyfriend," he said. "I think being shag buddies is a good option. See, Rose, I don't think I could tolerate you enough to actually be your boyfriend. And bear in mind, Weasley, I have every intention of beating you in Quidditch and in marks this year. I promise."

"We shall see, Malfoy. The first Qudditch match of the year is rapidly approaching. Slytherin versus Gryffindor. I don't intend to come away without the snitch in Albus's hand."  
"And see, here I was not intending to come away without the snitch in mine," he said, shaking his head.

"You Seekers are all the same. Taking after your fathers, that's all you do," I said.

"I hope not," he said. "As Potter's father always beat mine."

"Ah yes, I know," I said, smiling brightly.

"I've beaten him before," he reminded me.

"I know," I said. "But we still won the match. And if you'll recall, Albus was dragged to the hospital wing as soon as the match was over, because McGonagall diagnosed him with a muggle flu and he couldn't function properly for a week."

He glared at me. "I hate you sometimes Weasley."

"I know," I said. "That made the sex that much more fun, didn't it?"

"I think yes," he said, laughing a little.

Before I could say anything else, Albus waltzed down the hallway, whistling obnoxiously.

"How is the happy couple?" he wondered crossing his arms.

"Good as long as long as no one tells my parents," I said, looking at him sternly.

"I wouldn't," Al said. "But I don't know about your brother. Hugo's always had the mouth of a veritaserum-greased first year."

"Oh, good," I said. "This ought to make holidays quite fun."

Al shrugged. "You've got a couple of months for them to dwell on it. I wouldn't worry at this point."

"It's okay, Weasley," Scorpius said. "I think your parents will probably be harmless compared to mine."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "I thought your father didn't mind our parents that much?"

"Oh he doesn't mind your families, no… but he wouldn't, perhaps, take kindly to a relationship. Then again. I think that is almost what makes it more fun."


	9. Chapter 9

**_A/N: Thank goodness the wonderful people running this site fixed the problems it was facing with updating chapters. I went on a writing spree for this fanfic! I have about nineteen chapters sitting in my file folders, waiting for readers. I will try to keep an updating schedule, but I don't want to throw it all on at once, because I know my mind will eventually fizzle, and I will focus on another story of mine for a month or so before returning to the wonderful world of Rose and Scorpius. Hope you enjoy! Thanks for reading, and even more thanks for reviewing!_**

Chapter Nine

Scorpius

I groaned and fell painfully onto my bed in the Slytherin dormitory. Rose Weasley was a tease. A siren. No girl could be such a… bitch… and yet still leave me aching for a little more. I wanted to fuck her again, already, so badly, as the image of her naked body plagued my head.

She had a body, that girl, truly. She was light as a feather, but muscular with perfectly shaped legs and arms, and such a boniness to her that her collarbone looked as if it could cut someone if they got too close. She had a flat stomach, and breasts that were, if possible, the perfect size—not too big, and hardly mosquito bites.

At the thoughts of her, the front of my jeans began to tent. I groaned loudly, trying to throw images of slaughtered kittens and children with their heads bashed in around in my head to calm myself down. The door to the dorm swung open and I looked up quickly, hoping it wasn't someone who would get sadistic pleasure, or feel mildly embarrassed at the fact that I was moments away from wanking off to the image of my mortal enemy.

It was Eric. We'd walked in on each other at some of the more awkward times in life, and so it was truly a no judgement zone when he realized my predicament. He did, however, raise his eyebrows.

"Where were you? A fourth year informed the common room that you were pinned to the wall naked outside the Gryffindor common room," he said.

"That I was," I said, sighing heftily.

He laughed. "I'll assume due to the work of one Miss Weasley…?"

"Ah yes," I said. "After I shagged her mind you."

He whooped. "Finally! Took you long enough. How was it? I mean I can see that it was good, based on…"

He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"it was easily the best fuck I've _ever _had," I said happily.

"Really?" he said, grinning. "Damn. Now I'm jealous. But I suppose now I can have Rachel."

"I can't actually see her agreeing to that one," I said, shaking my head. "But it's worth a shot. She gives the best hand jobs."

"Do you want me to send her in here then? That shag must still be playing over and over in your head. You've been… in an awkward predicament this _entire _conversation," Eric said, chuckling a little.

"May I ask _why _you're looking at my crotch?" I demanded.

Eric just laughed. "I'll leave you two alone."

I glared at him as he walked out of the room, leaving me alone. As soon as the door was shut, I waved my wand to draw the hangings around my bed and undid my belt, as well as the buttons on my jeans. As soon as I had better access, I seized my own length and pictured fucking Rose Weasley in my head. I groaned and began to rub and pull, imagining her, sliding in and out of her.

A piercing shriek split my self-pleasuring moment. It was echoed by others, high and loud, breaking the silence.

"Help!" someone yelled loudly. "Go get Professor Zabini!"

I jumped up, buttoning my jeans as I went, grabbing my wand. I burst into the hallway in time to see a crowd of people in the middle of the room, all clustered around someone.

"Scorp!" Eric yelled. "Everyone, let Scorp through!"

"What's going on?" I demanded, thundering into the common room, and pushing through the crowd. Sprawled in the middle of the floor, on her back without motion, was none other than Rose Weasley.

I bent over her quickly, leaning in to see if I could hear her breath.

"What happened?" I demanded again as I shook her head.

"She came in here, saying she'd found something of yours in the bathroom, and then she just started to gag, as if she was choking on something. And then she was on the ground, on her back, shaking, and convulsing," Rachel replied, watching as I felt for Weasley's pulse. _Think, Scorpius, think… _I wasn't, dear god, going to let the best fuck I'd ever have die right here.

"Rose!" I shouted. "Weasley, Weaslet? Wake up, Rose!"

I bowed by head, listening to the beat of her heart in her chest. It was fluttering, and her air sounded like I was rattling through an old muggle air vent, light and fluttery as it was.

"Tell Zabini to bring a Bezoar!" I shouted, and Rachel darted away. The entirety of the Slytherin House back from Hogsmeade seemed to be looking on, terrified, traumatized.

Her breathing became weak, and then I couldn't even hear it anymore. Her heart was slowing. I could only deduce one thing. This was surely some reaction from some sort of poison. I looked around, panicking. I couldn't whip up an antidote in this time… I needed to know what this was… and yet I had no idea."

Professor Zabini, head of Slytherin House, burst through the door to the common room at that time, charging across the room and finding me straddling Rose, trying to keep my head and figure out how to get her to breathe again. Professor Zabini, for some reason, passed _me _the shriveled lump that was a bezoar. I pulled open Rose's mouth and shoved the bezoar to the back, closing her mouth over it, massaging her throat to make her swallow. When I was certain she had swallowed, I stared at her expectantly.

"Come on, Rose, breathe, breathe," I said. "Breathe, Rose, come on."

Suddenly, she was spluttering, coughing loudly, her entire body convulsing. Her eyes fluttered, coughing. They locked with mine.

"Rose, speak to me," I beseeched.

"Why the hell are you on top of me Malfoy?" she demanded, coughing.

"Rose, what happened?" I demanded.

She shook her head, coughing some more. And then she threw up all over me.

-CD-

I waited impatiently outside the curtains that were drawn around Rose Weasley's bed. Albus stood next to me, with his arms crossed, and Hugo on his other side. The three of us stood like sentinels, waiting, guarding Rose from sort of unknown evil that could be approaching. For some reason, all three of us held our wands ready in our hands, while on the other side of the curtain, Professor Zabini, the potions master, Madame Pomfrey, McGonagall, and Professor Longbottom the family friend discussed what could have possibly happened to the Head Girl.

In my opinion, it was some sort of extremely clever trick to harm Rose Weasley. She was perhaps the most aware, and obviously one of the most intelligent people in this school. Her entire family was exceedingly talented in the world of defense. Laying a hand on her didn't seem very easy. Merlin knew Scorpius probably would've tried it—in fact, he had tried it. It was difficult. She could be one hundred feet away down a hallway with her back turned and still defend herself against a sneaky silent spell.

The doors to the infirmary swung open, and in burst two very harried looking people. The first was a man, tall and lanky with a long nose and hair flame red like Rose's. Next to him was a shorter, thin witch with very bushy brown hair, who looked quite a bit like Rose herself.

"Mum, Dad!" Hugo said, finally breaking his guard position to greet his parents.

"Hugo!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked, squeezing him heartily. "What happened Hugo?"

"We still don't know. McGonagall and Neville are talking about it with her right now," Hugo said. "They kicked, Al and Malfoy and me out of there."

"Malfoy?" Mr. Weasley said quickly, looking up at the sound of my name. He locked his eyes on me quickly.

"Scorpius Malfoy," I introduced myself, extended my hand out toward him to shake his. He stared at my long fingers for a moment, before extending a hand hesitantly, pumping my hand once, and then dropping it. He had an intense look in his eyes, half staring, half glaring at me.

"Scorpius was the one that saved Rose, Aunt Hermione," Albus said quickly. "He's the Head Boy, I don't know if you knew…"

"Oh is he?" Mr. Weasley said. "Interesting. Well, thank you, I suppose."

'What my husband means to say is, we very much appreciate you helping our daughter, Scorpius," his wife said gently, extending her hand too. "I'm Hermione Weasley. This is my husband, Ron, if you didn't know."

I looked up at the kind woman's face. Thoughts of the things my father used to say about her flooded my head. Mudblood. I tried not to visibly cringe at the thoughts of names being thrown around as I pumped her hand carefully.

"You're welcome," I said stiffly. For some reason, as Ron Weasley continued to stare at me, I felt my ears turning red. I wondered how much more intense his look would become if he knew what I had done with his daughter hours earlier.

McGonagall emerged from behind the curtain, her face grave, a frown stretched across her lips.

"Professor!' Hermione Weasley said. "How is she?"

"She will be all right, Hermione, just fine. She is sleeping now. Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, perhaps you two should go and sit by her. Ron, Hermione, I would like to talk to you…"

I sighed, turning to leave, but talons, bony fingers, grabbed me by my shoulders. I turned to see the headmistress clamped onto my arm, stopping me.

"Not so fast, Mr. Malfoy, this conversation involves you as well," she said. "Let us go into Madame Pomfrey's office. You can put your wand away, Mr. Malfoy, I can assure that no one is going to attack Miss Weasley. Besides, Albus is just as good a duelist as you are.

I followed them warily, getting steely looks from Mr. Weasley, as if I was annoying him by breathing—after I thought about it, I realized I probably was. The Malfoy relationship with the Potters and Weasleys, though not permeated by hate at this point, was certainly not one of friendship. My father, though having heftily repented for his sins of the past, was still far from being Harry Potter's best friend. For that reason, I begged Hugo could keep his mouth shut—I assumed he was too afraid of what Rose would do to him if he didn't. Either way, our generation had a different way of looking at things, compared to our parents.

We found it in ourselves to, for the most part, get along. My problems with Rose Weasley, though somewhat rooted in old familial feud, was more an academic thing. I had a problem with her overshadowing me. I would've had the same problem with anyone that was real competition to me. She was, after all, Gryffindor's Quidditch captain, and the other smartest student in the school.

I got along amiably enough with Albus and the others. James Potter and I, it was true, had been "friends" if that was the word for it. Friends that enjoyed destroying each other in fights, and on the Quidditch pitch back when James was captain. It wasn't, perhaps, a normal friendship, or one that we would proudly boast to our parents, but it was a friendship that had then been carried on with Albus. We would, perhaps, never be best mates, but we were able to see past our parents and realize that not everything always passed from one generation to the next.

My relationship with James Potter was perhaps, I would admit, an odd one. We met on the Quidditch pitch, fighting for practice space, actually, when I was a fifth year and he was a sixth. We'd previously spent our time enjoying our silent camaraderie when confronted with problems since my very first year. We also had suffered numerous detentions due to fun duels we'd hosted in the corridors between classes. But there on the pitch, we actually got along, a seeker and a chaser, both talented, both constructively critical.

Our hidden friendship on the pitch stayed there. We continued our show of family animosity within the halls of the school, and had no restraint in exercising bad behavior and poor sportsmanship toward each other. But we realized that ancient family feuds, old house feuds, were truly, surely, pointless.

We had mindless conversations about things, or some that were perhaps more deep than we would like to admit, when we were practicing, or when we found ourselves to be the only two people in one section of the library. It was weird, sure, but it was definitely friendship.

James had with Rachel what I had with Rachel about seven months before I had it. She was crushing on him hard, and he was oblivious to it. They were more or less fuck buddies, it was true, and then James one day was off with Adriana Thomas, not even realizing that he'd crushed Rachel. And so yes, I did feel like a dick when I started a very similar relationship with her. But I made sure she knew what it was, and I knew that she did not have feelings for me.

James and I maintained our odd friendship until he left Hogwarts and started in to study how to be a curse breaker for Gringotts. At this moment, walking into Madame Pomfrey's office, I sincerely wished that he had shared some of it with his parents, so that perhaps his uncle would not be looking at me as if I was the spawn of Voldemort.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Author's Note: Don't hate me, but I'm thinking of going on an updating schedule of every four to five days, mostly because I only have so much written, and eventually my Rose/Scorp writing brain will die and I will be forced to write in the world of non-fic, non-magic for a while, until the muse returns. So I just don't want to leave you waiting for a month later. Just a couple of days now. So sorry, thank you, and enjoy! **_

Chapter Ten:

Scorpius

"Is Potter on his way?" McGonagall wondered as I stood in the back of Madame Pomfrey's office, behind Rose's parents. I kept glancing at the door, ready to make my escape, if I could. With McGonagall's hawk eyes on my, I knew that would be exceedingly difficult. Just her cold stare glued me to the floor.

"Yes, Harry's coming," Ron said. "He's bringing the head of poison's department."

My eyebrows shot up as Ron sort of looked at him. The head of the poisons department would be one Draco Malfoy. Upon the fall of the Dark Lord, the Malfoy's before me found themselves in a bit of a predicament. When Lucius got himself hauled off to Azkaban, he left alone his wife and son. Narcissa and Draco were condemned to a year each of the wizarding world style house arrest, mostly by pardon of Harry Potter. Narcissa's evils perhaps ran deeper than her son's, but she had helped Potter succeed at the Battle of Hogwarts. Draco had been acting, Harry new, out of extremely understandable cowardice. At the time, he was a kid, living with people all too close in Voldemort's circle. When Lucius failed at retrieving the prophecy from the Department of Mysteries, the Malfoy family was in trouble. Draco, acting out of fear for himself and his mother, did the only thing he could do. He had no choice. And Harry Potter thankfully recognized this and lobbied on his behalf.

After the end of his sentence, Draco walked out into the real world. With his record, the prospect of becoming an auror was laughable, but he had interests in doing something of a similar nature. He worked to find the right place for him to work, and somehow—Scorpius expected that the hand of Harry Potter had been played again in this situation, though neither Draco or my mother, Astoria, would ever admit that. And so Draco specialized in poisons—antidotes, sources, etcetera.

"We believe we have found the source of Rose's predicament," McGonagall said. "She was seen not a half an hour before this incident by Professor MacMillan, outside of the Gryffindor common room where she had succeed in charming another student—Mr. Malfoy here—to the wall with a sticking charm not even MacMillan himself could undo. Some splendid magic yes, but enough to earn her a detention." I locked eyes with the professor for a moment, hoping she could see my thanks that she had not given every detail of the situation.

"A little over a half an hour later, she was choking on the floor of the Slytherin common room, where Mr. Malfoy here succeeded in saving her with a bezoar brought to him by Professor Zabini, head of Slytherin house. I will not shield you from the fact that, had Mr. Malfoy not fed her the bezoar, she probably would have died."

Hermione and Ron nodded, each with a bit of difficulty.

"How did she end up in the Slytherin common room?" Ron wondered.

"Yes, that is the question," McGonagall said. "Rose recounted the story for us once she had regained consciousness. She said that she went to the Head Boy and Girl bathroom to take a bath. Inside, she discovered a tray, holding a pitcher of iced pumpkin juice. She said she didn't think this was unusual, that the baths were quite over the top, and she assumed this was just part of the norm. So she took a glass and prepared to bathe.

"At this point, she discovered the Mr. Malfoy had left his Defense Against the Dark Arts book on the floor, and she didn't want to hurt it with steam from the tub, and decided to postpone her bath to return it to him. She was let into the Slytherin Common Room by one of Mr. Malfoy's friends, and there she proceeded to feel the affects of the poison, finding herself unable to breathe and convulsing.

"We believe it was the pumpkin juice, which we hope to confirm upon Draco Malfoy's arrival."

"How did the pumpkin juice get in there, if it was poisoned?" Hermione Weasley demanded.

"that is a wonderful question. The only people in this school building that can get into that room are several houselves, all of whom have not been in there since this morning—we tested with veritaserum—" Hermione Weasley made a face—"myself, your daughter, and Mr. Malfoy."

All at once, Rose's parents turned to look at me. And I could see easily, the accusation in their eyes.

"Professor, you can't be saying that I had anything to do with this…" I stuttered.

"No one is saying that , Mr. Malfoy," she said, shaking her head. "I would just like to know if you know anything."

"I took a bath in there this morning before the Hogsmeade trip," I said. "There was no pumpkin juice in there at that point."

"If one of you or the houselves didn't put it in there, how the bloody hell did it get there?" Ron demanded. He was still glaring at me.

"With all due respect, Mr. Weasley," I said. "Just because I am a Malfoy does not mean that I poisoned your daughter." I fixed him with my gray stare, hoping he knew I was not going to back down.

"Mr. Malfoy is one of the finest students Hogwarts has seen in years. He has aspirations to be an auror. He is a role model to many students, and a friend to many," McGonagall said tartly. "We are not pointing blame."

There was a knock on the door, and McGonagall pointed her wand at it to let it open. In stepped Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, not friends, perhaps, but on the same side.

"Scorpius," my father said in his customary Malfoy droll.

"Father," I said , nodding.

"What are you doing here?" Draco wondered.

"Your son saved Rose Weasley's life," Professor McGonagall said.

My father's eyes widened. "Did he?"

"He also may have poisoned her," Ron grumbled.

I saw my father's hand flick toward his wand as Hermione said. "_Ron!"_

"Again, with all due respect, Mr. Weasley, if I intended to poison your daughter, why would I then save her life?" I wondered coolly. "May I go professor?"

"Yes, I think that is best," McGonagall said. As I walked by him, my father clapped me on the shoulder. Harry Potter gave me a weak smile.

-CD-

Rose

I blinked my eyes open, the bright sunlight blinding me.

"Oh look, there she is!" Albus's voice cheered. "She wakes!"

I fluttered my eyelids, unable to focus on anyone in particular. There were four blobs standing around me, two on either side of the bed. On the left, one was considerably taller than the other. On the other side, one was obviously feminine.

I focused on the left first. Standing there was my little brother, smiling warmly at me, nicer than usual. Next to him, tall, lean, and yet so muscular, was Scorpius, who was scowling at me, arms crossed, wand out and clasped firmly in one of his hands. I blinked at them and then looked at the other side. Jessie was standing there, grinning as if something was seriously funny, next to Albus who had an equally amused expression.

"What's funny?" I demanded groggily, starting to sit up more. Al helped me up into a sitting position. I rubbed my head which felt somewhat like lead.

"You were talking in your sleep," Jess informed me.

"Oh yeah?" I said hoarsely. "What did I say?"

"I believe the exact words were 'Scorpius, fuck, Scorpius…' insert moan here 'Malfoy!'" Albus said, imitating her voice to an embarrassing degree.

"Oh dear," I said, sure that I was blushing brightly at this point.

"How are you?" Hugo wondered, also uncomfortable with her embarrassing sleep-talking.

"I feel woozy," I said.

"Madame Pomfrey said you should be good for physical activity within a week," Jess said, waggling her eyebrows suggestively and flicking her gaze in the direction of Scorpius.

"Which means," I said, looking toward Scorpius, whose gaze remained hard when I looked at him, despite the arch in one of his eyebrows. "I can still kick Malfoy's ass in the next Quidditch match."

"Watch it, Weaslet," he said. "I think you owe me your gratitude."

"That is true," I said grudgingly. "Damn you and your ferrety talents of saving lives. Thank you for nearly causing me to choke to death on a bezoar."

"It was that or die from a mystery poison," he said scathingly.

"It's always nice to know that our potions master trusts you to save me as opposed to doing it himself," I mused, stretching my arms up in the air, over my head. I coughed weakly and all four of them leaned in as if to do something to stop it.

"I'm thirsty," I announced. Albus offered me a cup of water.

"Hugo, go tell Madame Pomfrey that she's up, then go get your Mum and Dad," Jessie ordered, and Hugo shot her a look before doing as she asked.

"Who do you think did it, Rose?" Albus asked as soon as he was out of there.

"I don't know," I said, brushing my hand through my hair and realizing how scummy I felt. "How much class did I miss?"

Jess rolled her eyes. "Seriously? Rose, you were _poisoned,_ and all you can think about is how much school you missed?"

"Well you see, Miss Wood, I can't very well fall behind, because then dear Scorpius here would be better than me at something," I said sweetly reaching up to pat Scorpius obnoxiously on the cheek, as if I was his grandmother who found him unbearable adorable. He scowled at me.

"You were poisoned, Weasley," he drawled. "I think you have more pressing matters at hand."

"I think we're forgetting something here, Malfoy," I said. "That poison could very well have been meant for you."

He stared at me. Albus's jaw dropped.

"What?" I said. "Was I honestly the only one who thought of that? Please tell me I was not the only one who thought of that! Oh for _Merlin's sake! _It's not my bathroom. It's our bathroom, Malfoy. Whoever put it there probably knew that, I would assume. But that being the case, it's not like you and I have a regular bath schedule, so it could just as well have been meant for you as for me."

Scorpius frowned. "Who would want to kill me?"

"Well I could ask the very same thing about myself," I said. "I'm just saying. Both cases are very likely."

"I'm going to go share that revelation with McGonagall and Dad," Albus announced. Jess watched him walk away and then followed him, leaving me with Malfoy.

"Uncle Harry's here?" I questioned.

"And my father," he said. "They've been here for two days now, since you were poisoned. And your parents are here too. Pretty protective family you've got."

"You're father's not my family," I pointed out.

He was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "You're pretty stupid, drinking random pumpkin juice, just so you know."  
"Sex makes me thirsty," I said. "I blame you."

"Great, glad this has gotten turned around to me—you're not the only one who thinks it's my fault," he said.

"What?" I said.

"I'm suspect number one," he said.

"_Why?" _she demanded.

"Because other than you, McGonagall, and three already-proved-innocent house-elves, I'm the only one that can get into that bathroom."

"Oh…" I said, thinking about it. Then I laughed. "Why would _you _poison me?"

"Great question," he said. "Ask your dad. He seems to think it's my fault. I think that's why my father is still here. He's making sure your father doesn't… try anything with me."

"Wow," I said. "I'm sorry. I don't think you poisoned me. I'm too good of a shag for you to kill me. I mean, I may have pinned you naked to the wall… but we have better ways of getting back at each other."

"Yes, and if you weren't in the hospital, I would be executing my revenge at this moment… as it is… you'll have to wait a week, I think," he said.

"Am I really going to get out of here that quickly?" I asked eagerly.

"As deadly a potion as that was, it's easily remedied, according to my father and Pomfrey. You'll be out shortly. Though perhaps not back to classes right away."

I pouted. "I'm going to fall behind."  
"I know," he said grinning maliciously.

"Can I borrow your notes?" I wondered.

"Oh Weasley, you cannot be serious!" he said, laughing. "What type of competitor would I be if I let you have my secrets."

"Well Jess is horrible at taking notes!" I complained. "I guess I'll have to use Albus."

"I guess you will," he said smugly.

_Next Chapter Preview: "I think you're getting laid tonight, if I'm not mistaken."_


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Rose

"Really, Madame Pomfrey, I'm fine," I said. "I don't feel lightheaded, I haven't coughed once all day… I really can go to dinner. I promise if for some crazy, unknown, inexplicable unlikely reason I am to feel less than my best, I will come right back up here, crawl back in bed and I won't leave until you tell me that it is okay. I promise."

The aging nurse sighed. "Fine. Go to the feast. But don't blame me if something winds you back up here."

"I won't," I promised, nodding and grabbing my things before making my flight.

I stopped to check myself in a window that was black as ink. I fluffed out my hair and glossed my lips, not really sure who I wanted to show off for.

I entered the Great Hall unnoticed, and plodded over to the Gryffindor table. I slipped into a seat between Nina and Jess, across from Lucy, Albus and Lily.

"The hero has returned!" Jess said. "Where's your boyfriend?"

"I could ask you the same thing," I said. "Shagged Lysander lately?"

"Yes, for a matter of fact, I have," she said. "But I don't really call what we have a relationship."

"Nor do I call my thing with Scorpius a relationship," I said.

"Then why is he sitting over there staring at you?" Albus wondered, looking over my shoulder. I attempted to turn covertly around, looking over my shoulder. Scorpius looked away quickly, and his friend Eric snickered about something, giving me a gentle wave.

"You know what would really get his wand in a knot?" Nina said.

"Oh I have no idea," I said.

"Go over there and slap a sloppy wet one all over him," she said.

"Oh yes, I'd love to," I said.

"No need to mock me," Nina complained. "I just think it would bother him."

"He's just sitting over there with Eric," Albus said. "I don't think anyone would mind."

Albus continued to stare over her shoulder, watching Scorpius.

"I hate you all," I said, getting up. A couple of people looked up at me. The news that I had been poisoned had swept through the school. That was the problem with Hogwarts. Gossip had no boundaries. It spread like fiendfyre through the halls, consuming everything and infiltrating the minds of everyone. Spurred on by the Slytherins who had witnessed it, and then the presence of Draco Malfoy, whom all of Scorpius's friends knew—and thus, knew his profession and role in the ministry—it was around the school in twenty-four hours what happened to Rose Weasley.

At this point, two aurors were at the school, just as a precaution. No one knew exactly what was going on, and safety was a necessity. Uncle Harry and Rose's father were not among the aurors remaining, mostly because Uncle Harry had to head everything and Ron was his right hand man, as always.

I waltzed gently across the hall in the direction of the Slytherin table. A couple of other heads turned to look at me. I ignored them happily and continued past the tables and down the row where Scorpius was eating roast beef like it was his job.

"Malfoy," I said sweetly, sitting down next to him. He looked at me, raising one eyebrow.

"Yes?" he said, his mouth full of potato and beef.

"I just wanted to say thank you for saving me," I said, keeping up my sweetness. Once he swallowed, I leaned over and kissed him in a very obnoxiously showy manner.

"What are you doing?" he demanded, grabbing my wrist painfully.

"Thanking you," I said.

"You're making it look like we're a couple," he hissed against my lips.

Eric and Rachel were staring at us. Rachel wasn't pissed. She just looked shocked. Eric looked like he was about to laugh.

"Oh yes?" I said. "I know."

"Weasley, get away from me," he said as I wrapped my arms around him and drew him close.

"Oh why not?" I said.

"Because you're making us look like we're in a relationship," he said.

"I just love annoying you to death Scorpius," I said. "You of all people should know that."

He glared at me, a death glare. I stole a chunk of roast beef off his plate and got up to walk back over to my table. As I started to walk, he slapped me on the ass.

"That's mine, Weasley," he said. "Remember that."

I blew him an obnoxious kiss and sauntered back over to my table.

"I think you're getting laid tonight, if I'm not mistaken," Lily said, looking over at the Slytherin table, where Malfoy was proceeding to grind the food on his plate into dust with his fork.

"What makes you say that?" I wondered.

"Because you and Malfoy have a perverted relationship and right now he is so horny for you, it's you or his hand tonight," my baby cousin said.

Albus shook his head at his little sister. "You are… too old for your age."

"I grew up with you. More importantly I grew up with James. And Teddy. I think the first time I was corrupted was when I walked in on Teddy and Victoire one day when I beat Mum home from Diagon Alley because I didn't want to go to Malkin's and she knew Teddy was at our home. What was, I, like seven at that point? And then James. James, James, James. Slut brother. He's a manwhore."

"True," Albus said. "But I'm not."

"But you're not a virgin," Lily said.

"I don't know how you know these things," Al said. "I'm not very comfortable with it."

"Cry me a river," Lily said, licking gravy off of her fork. "I just know."

Albus shook his head, looking up over the heads of the crowd, still directly at the Slytherin table.

"_What _are you looking at?" I demanded of him, trying to follow his gaze, which still seemed to be trained on Malfoy.

"Nothing," he said quickly, looking down at his plate. I raised one eyebrow, but otherwise ignored him. Maybe he liked Rachel, as she was right around Malfoy. I wished him luck with that. I got the impression she wasn't one for steady, actual relationships.

-CD-

Scorpius

I stabbed the meat in front of me rather aggressively. Stupid Rose Weasley and her blasted feminine wiles. I was angry as hell at her for making such a spectacle at dinner. And yet, at the same time, she managed to make me want her so much. Damn Weasley minx.

I shoved away from the table and my pulverized dinner and stomped huffily across the Great Hall. I had thought Rose was causing a scene before, but then, I remember that she was much more stealthy than I was. Even when she was the most prominent topic of conversation among the school, she could still manage to sneak across the hall without the knowledge of anyone she didn't directly pass.

I wasn't so lucky. Due to some form of good looks that had been bestowed upon me, I attracted eyes as I stormed. Or maybe I was just louder than she was, more obnoxious, and thus, more noticeable. Something. Whatever it was caused about two hundred pairs of eyes to latch onto me all at once, until I stopped in front of Rose Weasley.

She looked up at me pleasantly, munching on an uncooked carrot, her green blue eyes massive and innocent. I wanted to slap the innocent look off of her face, but of course I kept my hands down. I knew if I touched her for more than a friendly pat on the arse, a pair of aurors would be on me like slime on a flobberworm, and I'd get myself hauled up to McGongall's office, and then probably the auror's office, reiterating my status as the number one suspect in the case of poisoned pumpkin juice.

That and, on principle, I wouldn't hit her. She didn't actually deserve it, and I didn't actually want to do it.

'What can I do for you, Scorpius?" she wondered gently, reminding me vaguely of a rabbit with that carrot—a far-too-sexy-for-her-own-good sort of rabbit at least.

"Get up, we're going to my dorm," I hissed.

"I'm not finished eating dinner," she replied sweetly, reaching over to cut a slice off the chicken breast on her plate. "Can this wait?"

I was worried that if we waited, the entirety of the school would be able to see the hard-on I was starting to get.

"You can bring food with you," I offered.

She thought for a moment, and then looked up at her two friends. Nina gave her a disapproving look, and Jess gestured her eagerly forward. Jessie Wood was my hero. She encouraged slutty behavior, or at least appreciated sex. I imagined she and Rachel would get along quite well.

Rose grabbed her chicken breast and another couple of carrots before following me out of the hall, attempting to carry her bag as well.

"Give me that," I said, as soon as we were out of sight and in the entrance hall. I took the bag off of her shoulders, knowing it would be my fault if she ended up back in the hospital wing for fatigue.

"Look who's being a gentleman," she taunted, tossing her hair back. I tried not to get pissy at her, because it tended to just turn me on even more. As it were, I was going to shortly need a remedy for the blood pulsing south. We headed in the direction of the dungeons, her bag hanging from my arm. I said nothing as she noisily muched her carrots. For someone who had recently been poisoned, she looked pretty damn good.

"What does Madame Pomfrey say about physical activity?" I wondered as we approached the brick wall that led into the common room.

"She says I should limit it," she said. "Which means this may be a vaguely more one sided deal than you're used to. I really don't' want to go back to the hospital wing."

"it wouldn't matter if you're asleep," I said, thankful that she was acknowledging and fully acceptant of the fact that we were going to have sex. It didn't seem to bother her at all, actually.

"But you feel fine enough?" I checked. The last thing I needed was an unconscious Weasley with my dick stuck in her. I'd never actually had a girl pass out on me before. That would be mildly frightening, I supposed.

"I feel fine," she said. "And I'll let you know if I don't."

She was quiet for a moment. "Are you worried about me?"

"No, I'm actually more worried about myself," I said. "See, I don't need any more indications that I slipped you some poison."

"I don't think you did," she said.

"That's good, because I didn't," I snapped, spouting off the password and ushering her inside. The rest of the house seemed to still be at dinner, so we headed right down the hall to my dorm room.

She guessed easily that my bed was the one by the window. She shashayed over to it as I put her bag on the floor, already yanking at my silver and green tie.

"You know, the Slytherin dorms are really not that bad," she said, laughing a little.

"Dark, maybe," I said. "But shockingly warm."

"Shockingly," she agreed running her hands over the crisp white sheets on my bed, then lifting one hand to brush the emerald hangings that hung from the four poster. "For under the lake."

"Exactly," I said, moving more slowly at this point, undoing the knot on my tie. I sat next to her, with just the top button of my shirt undone, tie draped over the footboard. She smiled at me, in a very seductive way.

"How horny did I make you at dinner?" she wondered, teasing.

"Enough to make me drag you down here," I said.

"Like Persephone, being dragged into the bowels of the underworld by Hades," she mused.

"So now I'm the god of the underworld?" I questioned.

"If you like," she said.

"I like the term _god," _I said thoughtfully.

_**A/N: All reviews loved and welcome oh dear faithful readers. I will post chapter 12 at approximately 6:09 am EST on the 12th of April. **_

Next Chapter: Well... I'll let you guess.


	12. Chapter 12

**_AN: I APOLOGIZE: I said around 6:09 this morning, and that didn't happen. I'm guessing this was due to the issues on the site, because I posted then but it didn't actually post. I got home today, and I was... very disappointed. Also, This whole "let's update on a schedule thing" is hard for me. I almost updated about three times before I said I would... Anyway, I was also very worried that I wouldn't be able to update due to the craziness going on with the log-in and whatnot. I hope you enjoy a lemony fun chapter. CD_**

Chapter 12.

Rose:

Malfoy fixed me with his silver eyes. He had an intense gaze, piercing, and shockingly attractive. His staring made my heart pick up in a weird way. Reaching over, I pulled myself onto his lap, starting to kiss him as I wrapped my legs around his middle. I was wearing jeans under my robes, even though the rest of the school was in uniform, due to it being the middle of the week. I had a feeling he wished I was in a skirt. Easier access.

He undid the clasp on my robes, dropping them down to the floor. Black robes with the scarlet lined hood looked odd on the floor of the boys' Slytherin dorm. His hands slid down the back of my striped blouse, my lower back and onto my ass.

"Let me know if you get tired," he said, flipping me onto my back. He started to unbutton my blouse, following his fingers with his tongue and teeth until he revealed my white, lacy bra. He moved lower than that, sliding his tongue across my stomach, nibbling at my skin.

"I will," I said, tangling my fingers into his hair before moving to the buttons on his shirt. I had him quickly out of that, and then I was tugging at the undershirt underneath. We were a little calmer this time than last time. He was being gentler to me as he unbuttoned my jeans, pulling me out of them. Maybe because I was in a "fragile" state at this point—having been recently poisoned and all that. I knew he was afraid of landing me back in the hospital, just because he didn't want anything implicating him any further.

Shortly, I was just in my bra and panties underneath him. He supported himself over the top of me, and I could tell from the hardness pressing into my thigh, that he was quite enjoying himself. For some reason, gentler kisses, less ferocity, turned me on quite a bit more. I arched my hips up against him, and he gritted his teeth, shuddering.

I reached down and unbuttoned his pants, pulling them down over his straining erection, still concealed by his checked black and green boxers.

"Slytherin through and through, aren't you?" I murmured, leaning up to kiss him on the lips. He pressed himself against me, sliding his leg in between my legs, pressing his thigh against the place where my legs met. I moaned a little against his mouth, reaching up and knotting my fingers into his already a naturally tousled white blonde hair. He slid out of his boxers, unhooking my bra and hooking his fingers in my panties, pulling them down. He kissed my breasts, sucking on them gently as he slid in between my legs. He slid his hands up my thighs, bringing them upwards to give him better access.

"You are… hot," he said, sliding his hand in between my legs and beginning to massage me with his fingers. I groaned in reply as he pushed one finger inside of me, pumping it in and out aggressively while we sucked and nibbled on each other's necks. His free hand caressed my shoulders and breasts, or stroked my face, wherever he found it best to touch.

After a moment, his pumping fingers stopped, and he removed his hand, moving it up with the other to grasp my shoulders. I realized at this point that all the pleasure had been given to me, and he was straining for his turn. He pushed his way inside of me quickly, eliciting a hybrid gasp and moan from my mouth . I reached my arms up, still tangled in his blonde locks, as he thrust against me.

"Oh, Rose," he said, keeping his pace tantalizingly slow. He sucked at my neck, mussed my hair and licked my skin as he continued. I kissed his shoulders, tasting the saltiness of his sweat on my tongue.

"You are…" he said, and then I thrust my hips forward, silencing him safe for the groan that fell from his perfect lips.

"What?" I whispered. "What?"

"Ugh," was his only reply as he quickened his speed, moving more rapidly. I bucked my hips in time with him, shuddering as he pushed me closer and closer. I didn't understand how he did it, actually. It was so bloody fucking amazing. Here I was, barely doing anything to help myself, and he was throwing me quickly and easily to the brink of ecstasy. Perhaps he was some sort of god. A sex god. He certainly did have the body for it.

"Oh fuck!"I said as he continued to edge me along, his pace seeming to quicken still, sweat building up on his shoulders, which I reached out to lick, pressing my chest up against his as he moved against me. I continued my lame hip thrusts, content to let him do the work, but feeling guilty about it.

"Rose?" he said as another cry fell out of my mouth.

"Scorpius!" I said.

"Come on, Rose," he urged. "Come on, babe, come on, come for me. Do it, Rose. Come on. Rose, come."

I needed no further prompting. He pushed me over the edge at that point, and I was lost in waves of blissful pleasure, with him continuing to aid me as I spiraled through ecstasy.

He came then too, my name on his lips as I replied with his, our voices mixing with each other's in my head. And then he collapsed on top of me, our heaving chests breathing against each other. We were exact opposites. He breathed in when I exhaled, he breathed out when I inhaled. I wiped a bead of sweat off of his collarbone and ran my fingers back through his hair as he nibbled my neck and my ear again. And then he pulled out and rolled onto his back. He was still breathing heavily, staring up at the ceiling. I looked over at him, and he smiled.

Scorpius:

If I learned anything in six years (and counting) at Hogwarts, it was that they did not have bed checks. As long as you weren't wandering the halls after hours, then they didn't really give a fuck where you were. Which meant keeping Rose Weasley in my bed was not a problem.

Before my roommates came in, I offered her my Falmouth Falcons t-shirt to sleep in, enlarging it so that it would cover most of her. She brushed her teeth with a toothbrush she conjured, and cleaned her clothes with her wand so that they were ready for wear tomorrow. Then she cuddled up under the thick black duvet. She was tired. I did feel a little bad, perhaps a little selfish, because, after all, she had just gotten out of the hospital wing.

Just as I was heading into the bathroom, my three roommates pounded loudly into the room. I glared at all of them. Eric was, of course, ever observant, the first to notice that we had company.

"Oh mates, Scorp's got a girl in his bed. Evening, Miss Weasley," he greeted her, with a quick wave.

"Hey Eric," she yawned. "Hello, everyone."

Steve raised his eyebrows. "Hey." Then he shoved past me to one of the sinks in our measly, uncleanly bathroom. I took another sink, going to brush my teeth while Rose chatted with Eric and Paul on the other side of the door. They were a little hesitant with her, I could tell. Despite the fact that, in truth, Paul and I had had our share of women in our beds from time to time, no one truly ever expected the presence of Rose Weasley. They were probably a little afraid of her, actually, knowing how talented she was, and how often we caused each other physical harm with our hexes. And now I was trusting her to sleep in my very bed, in our very room.

I slid into bed with her. "Are you tired?"

"Exhausted," she said, stealing one of my pillows and plumping it up under her head.

"Go to sleep," I suggested, reaching for the book I was reading, which I had left on the table next to my bed.

"Your bed is warm," she said happily, snuggling deep in and pulling up the duvet to her chin.

"Freak," I said.

"Ferret," she sang.

When the rest of the dorm was asleep—including Rose, who was cuddled against my side, and continuously pressing her frigid toes into my legs, I swore she was trying to peeve me off even in her sleep—I was still up. I was reading my book, not very tired, actually.

Suddenly, the dormitory door swung open with a creak, and I looked up quickly. There was no one on the other side of it. I questioned the possibility of it being Peeves, but even he would've made his presence known already. There was a chance that it was just the wind, so I lifted my wand to close it again. It slammed against something hard, and there was a very loud "ow" shouted out.

"Who's there?" I demanded.

"Damn," the voice said. The air in front of him rippled and Albus Potter folded a silvery cloak over his arm. I knew the cloak used to belong to James.

"What are you doing here, Potter?" I demanded.

"Is Rose here?" he demanded.

"She's right here," I said, pointing down at her.

"Oh," he said.

"Why?" I questioned.

"Well, her dad asked me to look out for her and when Jessie told me she didn't come back tonight, I was concerned. I figured I would come here and look for her," he explained. "I just wanted to make sure she was okay."

"She's fine," I said.

"Look, Malfoy," Albus said, stepping across the floor. "I don't want to start anything with you, but let me just get this out there: you fuck with her, and I will make you into nothing more than a shadow on the floor."

"I see," I said.

"I'm serious," Albus said. "I have no quarrel with you until you hurt her."

"All right," I said.

"I'm going to bed," he said. "Good night Malfoy. Make sure she's okay, all right?"

"She'll be fine," I assured him. He nodded and walked out the door. That was that.

Honestly, in this relationship with Weasley, I was more worried for myself than I was for her.

I yawned, flicking my wand at the light. It extinguished, and I slid down in my bed, sliding closer to Rose's warm body. She rolled over and faced me, pressing her cheek against my chest. I put my arm around her, pressing my face into her warm, flowery hair.

_Next Chapter: Al has a confession for his cousin. _I will post at... oh... 9:35 am EST on Saturday April 16. (if I'm awake).


	13. Chapter 13

_**A/N: Warning: There is slash in this. It is in main characters, but obviously (or at least I hope obviously at this point) not involving our two narrators, Scorp and Rose. There will be nothing more explicit than kissing and an occasional innuendo. Still I don't want to offend anyone, so I thought I'd warn in advance. It becomes a bit of a theme for a little while. So I hope you enjoy anyway! **_

Chapter 13:

Rose:

Al cornered me in the common room during our break the next morning.

"Hey Potter," I said. 'What can I do for you?"

"Can I talk to you?" he wondered.

"Sur ce?" I asked. "About what?"

"Can we go up to my dorm?" he asked, glancing around at the common room crowded with sixth and seventh years on break.

"Sure," I said, nodding and following him up the stairs to the seventh year boys' dorm. He pushed the door open and led the way inside.

"In the name of Merlin's saggy left, do you think you could be any bigger slobs?" I deamanded, trying to avoid a dubious garment on the floor.

"Probably not," he said, kicking aside a damp towl and settling on his bed. I sat next to him, crossing my legs.  
"What do you want to talk about?" I wondered.

He cleared his throat awkwardly, looking over my shoulder.

"Oh," I said. "Al, is this about Malfoy? Because I mean, yeah I'm not exactly being moral… but…"

"This has nothing to do with you," he said.

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh. Good. I was prepared to defend myself to the death. So what's up cuz? Lady troubles perhaps?"

"Sort of," he said, clearing his throat.

I raised both of my eyebrows. "Is it Jess?"

"Jess?" he said, looking startled.

"I see you looking at her," I pointed out.

"_Jess?" _he said, giving me a look that clearly questioned my sanity.

"What, you don't like her?"

"No!" he said. "I mean, it's not that she's not… nice and everything… but she's not exactly my type."

"A bit too wild for you or something then?" I assumed.

"Well… yeah, that would be a dealbreaker if she already completely didn't fit the mold," he said.

"I'm confused," I said. "Who do you like Al?"

"For my smart cousin, you actually are pretty daft sometimes," AL said. "A little clueless."

"Cold," I said.

"Be that as it may, however," he said. "You are also my best friend."

"Aw," I said. "Thanks Alby."

"No need to make me nauseas," he said, holding up a hand in warning. "I just came to you because I know I can tell you pretty much everything."

"Not pretty much everything," I contradicted. "Everything. Whatever you want to talk to me about, actually."  
"Thanks, Rose," he said, smiling a little. But he was still hesitant. "And everything I say to you is completely confidential? You won't tell anything—not Malfoy, not Jess, or Hugo, or Nina, or Lucy, or dear god, not Lily or your parents—Or my parents!"

"Not if you don't want me to," I said.

He nodded. "You promise?"

"I promise," I said. "Cousin confidentiality. I keep my mouth closed over whatever you want me to keep it closed on."

"Okay," he said smiling. "Thanks… Rose, really, I mean that.'  
"Anytime," I said. "That's what I'm here for. Now, what do you have to tell me?"

"This is… awkward," he said, clearing his throat again.

"On the contrary, Al, you're just _making _it awkward," I said.

"Right…" he said thoughtfully. "Well Rose, this is a big deal." He cleared his throat once more. Not helping the awkward factor very much.

"Big like, when Lily ate too much candy at Christmas and threw up in my bed, or big like… you got some girl pregnant?" I questioned.

"Big like I got some girl pregnant—"

"What?" I shrieked.

"I meant, it compares to that!" he said. "I didn't actually… no one is up the duff Rose! Calming breaths, all right?"

"Good, because as a wizard, that would be pretty damn stupid," I said.

"I know," he said, shaking his head. "I just think it's a secret of equally astounding proportions."

I loved secrets. I loved to make a bank of them, because I was so good at keeping them. It drove people nuts, and it gave me a sort of a power kick, believe it or not (shocking, obviously). I never told, which is why everyone always told me their secrets. Jess used to joke that one day I would know so many secrets, I'd pop my mouth off and be unable to stop spouting everyone's dirty laundry to the rest of the world.

"Well go ahead," I said. "Everything you tell me, you know I won't say it, Albus, I promise."

"I know," he said. "Promise me that no matter what… you'll support me, right, Rose?"

"of course," I said. "What sort of cousin would I be?"

"Right, I know… it's just, Rose this is big, and it's mildly scary for me, if you know what I mean by that…"

"Of course," I said, even though I actually didn't. But I had to tell him that, because he, clearly, needed a little reassurance. The look on his face was a kid one, nervous, like he was about to tell the girl he had liked for three days that he thought she was pretty.

"Rose, I think…" he said. "No, I don't think, I'm pretty sure… like ninety-eight percent…"

"Albus, spit it out, yeah?" I said.

"I'm gay, Rose," he said.

I would regret my actions about thirty seconds later. But I did start laughing. Because it was the most ludicrous thing I'd ever heard. Albus gay? Albus who grew up with Teddy and James… _gay? _Of course, only when I saw his wounded face did I realize my major fuck up.

"Oh merlin!" I said. "Oh Albus, oh I'm sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to laugh. I just thought… you were joking. Oh! Oh sorry! I'm sorry!"

I put my arms around him. "Are you sure, Al?"

"Like I said, ninety-eight percent," he said, hugging me. "I get why you laughed, don't worry about it. It's the craziest thing ever…"

"How long have you known? I wondered.

"About… three years now?" he said. "Two and a half. I figured it out when I was fifteen…"

"Fifteen?" I said. "But what about… your beneficial relationship with…?"

"I was trying to convince myself I wasn't," he said shrugging simply. "But honestly, all it did was convince me that I _was."_

"Wow…" I said. "Oh wow."

"I know," he said. "It sort of freaks me out… but I kind of just get used to it… I mean, I would always have dreams… wet dreams… you know? But none of them would ever have _girls _in them… so that was when I figured it out, I suppose."

"Oh my Merlin," I said, using my favorite phrase that irked everyone in the wizarding world but me.

"I know," he said.

"I didn't need all of that information. Just so you know," I said.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I was just really confused there for a while Rose."

"Understandable," I said, reaching over to squeeze his hand. I gave him a tight hug. "Hey, whatever, I don't care, honestly. Like who you want to like. It's a free world—love is love, no matter what it looks like, okay? It'll be all right, Al."

He hugged me back. "Thanks, Rose."

"Of course," I said. "You're still my best friend and favorite cousin, no matter what. Thank you for telling me. As shocking as it was, I'm glad you told me. You shouldn't have to deal with this alone. I'm here for you, Al, no matter what."

"Thank you," he said, hugging me close. "I'm just… I guess not your typical gay guy."

"I see that," I said. "Hence being completely confused. Quidditch player, Potter boy, cool kid, hunk of muscle… most of that doesn't get thrown in a cauldron and come out with gay."

"I know," he said. "Which is why I didn't get it."  
"You can't control who you love," I said. "You didn't just wake up one day and say 'hey, I think I'll be gay.' It just happens."

"Exactly!" he said. "Ugh. Thanks, Rose, seriously."

"No problem," I said. "Really. Now I have a question."

"Um, okay?" he said.

"Who were you staring at last night? I've deduced now that it wasn't Rachel. I couldn't care less if it was Malfoy, but I'll just say I'm _pretty _sure he's not gay at this point, so for Pete's sake, feast your eyes, but don't get your hopes up."

"I wasn't staring at Malfoy," he said, looking at the ground. "Not that he isn't hot…"

"Tell me about it," I said.

"But it's more… Eric," he said.

"Eric?" I said, almost as shocked as I was when he came out.

"Yeah," he said, blushing and looking at the ground. "Have you _seen _him?"

"Um…" I said. "Yes, I have. Shirtless, actually…"

"But?" he prompted. "What's clinging desperately to the end of that sentence, Rose?"

"Er…" I said. "Well… I don't know if he's gay, Albus."

"See I don't either," he said. "But then again, you also didn't know _I _was gay, so there's still a chance."

"I suppose yes," I said, laughing a little. "I'll do some snooping if you want."

"Oh god, no Rose," he said. "You are far, far from subtle."

"Oy, that's unfair!" I complained.

"No, it's the truth," he said. "But you can try, I suppose. But… don't do anything I'll regret."

"That is an odd way of putting it," I commented. 'But sure, I'll do my best. Hunt for porn and what not."

"Dear lord, Rose," he said, putting his head in his hands.

"Sorry, was that going too far?" I wondered.

"Rose, you don't know the definition of too far," he said. "You are perhaps the most careless, egotistical, pigheaded, brilliant, sweet, kind person I know."

"I don't think a person can be all of that," I contradicted. "Too many opposite pulls, don't you think?"

"Look in the mirror, Rose, you are all of that," he said, shaking his head and laughing.

"Look, if I find any magazines, I'll bring them to you," I offered.

He just stared at me.

"Okay, so _that _was too far," I said. "Good. I know that for future reference."

He just laughed, and I was glad to see that he was casual about it, okay with laughing with me. It would be all right. I knew he would be all right. He was Albus Severus Potter, and that said a lot.

"Thank you again," he said. "Though I'd work on those boundaries, yeah? And please, don't tell anyone."

"I won't," I said. "Do you want me to make an Unbreakable Vow here, because I will…?"

"No, that' won't be necessary. I trust you, Rosie. I know you collect secrets though, and that's somewhat worrying. Some days, I wonder what you're eventually going to do with all of them," he commented.

"See, Al," I said. "The problem with secrets is, after a while, they stop being secrets. They lose their flavor. Because after a while, everybody just ends up… knowing them. Without my help, mind you."

"I know," he said. "I just don't think that will be any day soon for me. Even if I did find someone here… well I don't know how to face my parents… And I would have too, with so many of us here in school…"

"Al, no one in our family is going to love you any less. The only way they'd love you less is if you tried to marry a pureblood," I pointed out.

"Which means, as I'm not the one in this room shagging a _Malfoy, _then I actually have less to worry about than… oh right… you." He grinned at me wickedly.

"Yeah," I said. "I know. I'm screwed."

"Literally," he said.

"Come on, let's go back down to the Common Room. It smells too much like boy in here. The Slytherins are much neater than you are."

I linked my arm in his as we started down the staircase.

"So, Rose, is Malfoy a good shag?" he wondered.

"Yes, new subject," I said.

"Fine, any idea who poisoned you yet?" he questioned as we approached the common room.

"That is a great question," I said. "I actually have no idea… I hope they figure it out. I'd like to hex their nads off."

"What makes you think it's a guy?" he wondered.

"Because I'm atrociously sexist," I said.

"Oh…" he said. "Right."

-CD-

Next Chapter to be posted at 11:30 am Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday April 19th, Preview: Rose has a new, somewhat sadistic hobby.


	14. Chapter 14

_**A/N: Hello! I hope you are liking this so far! I would just like to let you know that as it stands right now, this fic will be somewhere around 50 chapters, and it will have an epilogue (I say this having written 44 of the chapters). So I hope you like it enough to stick with it!**_

Chapter 14.

Scorpius:

I looked sternly at Rose Weasley. Her wand, held level out in front of her, was pointed directly at my chest. She smiled sadistically. I held her evil gaze, my mouth not turning in any direction, maintaining a solid line. I gripped my wand more tightly. My sleeves were rolled up to my elbows, tie loosened. The muscles and veins in my arms pulsed. I knew that half the class was watching us, half the class sleeping.

I flicked my wand, she flicked hers, nothing happened. I wanted her flat on her back, stunned. She wanted the same for me.

She flicked her wand, I blocked the silent spell, the red light of the sun fizzling lamely out to the side. She glared at me, refusing to blink, her smile morphing into more of a sneer.

We both flicked. She jumped to the side at the right second. I caught her stinging jinx in the wand arm, temporarily in pain. She aimed another silent stunner at me, which I deflected, nearly hitting her in the chest.

Professor Thomas cleared his throat loudly. "Class, as you can see, a match between two equally skilled duelists is often quite… boring. Um… well… if we had more space, I imagined Mr. Malfoy and Miss Weasley would be causing a little more trouble. As it is, however, they are confined to a small area… and well… both of them are very good.

"Some of you are still having a vast amount of difficulty performing silent spells. I tell you, this is necessary for success on NEWTS. Many of your aspirations could be halted by failure to perform a silent shield charm.

"Miss Weasley, if you would please take your seat, I will continue the duel with Mr. Malfoy," he said simply. Rose sat down stowing her wand in her robes as she settled at a desk in between Jess and Albus.

"Professor," I said, bowing courteously to the man in front of me.

"Do your worst Malfoy," Thomas said, bowing back. He raised his wand, shot something at me. I deflected it and sent him sprawling on his back.

"I want to go again!" Rose complained loudly from her seat as Professor Thomas stood up from where I had knocked him into a wall.

"Very good, Mr. Malfoy. See class, that was exactly what a proper silent shield charm should look like," Professor Thomas said.

There was a whoosh of wind and I found myself hanging upside down in the air by one of my ankles.

"And that's what an improper one looks like," Rose said cheerfully from where she was settled on top of the desk.

"Put me down, Weasley," I growled.

"Professor, can we _please _continue our duel?" Rose begged. "I really thought I was getting close to winning."  
"In your dreams, you whore," I spat at her.

"Now, Mr. Malfoy, there's no need for language like that," Thomas said warningly, laughing a little, as no one really took the Weasley/Malfoy rivalry that had been around since first year, very seriously.

"You can let me down Weasley," I snapped.

Rose waved her wand and I toppled in a heap on the ground, raising my wand as soon as I was righted. I sent a silent spell at her which blew up her skirt again, making me laugh. She whirled on me and shot a stunner at my chest, which I narrowly avoided.

"Malfoy, Weasley, really?" Mr. Thomas said, shooting a shield in between Weasley and me. The bitch was laughing—not that I wasn't—but it was a little evil.

"I'm sorry professor," Weasley said.

"That was pretty good though wasn't it?" I said, looking eagerly at our professor.

"Good enough to warrant five points to Slytherin and five more to Gryffindor," Thomas said. I supposed that was all right with me. Another teacher might have docked points for such behavior.

"You two are such a charming couple," Jess Wood commented from where Lysander Scamander was giving her a backrub.

"We're not a couple," Rose and I said in synch.

"Are you not?" Eric said. "I was kind of under a different impression."

Jess laughed and so did Albus.

"You two need some serious help," Nina quipped. "Who thinks we ought to chip in and buy them all couple's counseling? Raise your hands."

Lucy, Eric, Steve, Rachel, Eric, Albus, Nina, Jess, and even Lysander raised their hands. Mike Finnigan just snorted in the background.

"Then again, you'd need couple's counseling too if you were shagging each other, but were also bitter rivals…" Eric pointed out.

"Speaking of which," Rose said, cutting across me. "Extra Quidditch practice tonight Gryffindor team that is present here. Just thought I'd share that."

I shot her a death look. "And for my team, that's tomorrow night."

She shot me a return look. I frowned a little. This sort of bothered me. Before I suddenly became inexplicably biologically attracted to Rose Weasley, I never knew what it was like to be horny _all the time. _Of course, I was a seventeen-year-old boy, so I was itching to fuck quite often—cue Rachel—but I didn't usually take one look at a girl and want her in my bed, under me, on top of me, something. But that was how it was with Rose. I wanted her all the time. And those two shags of ours didn't help matters. If I could've just wanted her from afar without actually knowing how good it was to have her, then I could've jacked off to my own wildest imaginations. However, now that I knew, the imaginary was not quite good enough for me. So instead, every time I saw her, I had to think "Rose" then "drowning kittens." It was awful.

Seeing her standing there, looking adamant and evil turned me on. I pictured her in my Falcons t-shirt—which she stole, promising to return it _eventually—_and then I had to sit down and imagine what it would be like if my first born child was eaten by a Hungarian Horntail. Generally pleasant thoughts and all that. She was going to be the death of me. She was.

-CD-

Rose:

I had a new hobby. I had invented a brand new, beautiful game. It was called "Let's See How Much I Can Torment Malfoy." Honestly, the goal was to get him horny, which in turn tormented him. But he apparently thought I was sexy when I got competitive, which meant this was a really easy game—I was going to have to reinvent it a little, but for now, I was winning, and it was fun.

The only problem was, while I was winning, no one was _actually _competing against me. So as I won, no one lost—which sadistic as it was, sort of bothered me, because half the high I got out of winning was knowing that other people were losing. So meanwhile, while I basked in my "victory" Scorpius was also winning, seeing as his body and mind were ripe for jacking off. I wished I could be sexy, and, keep him from enjoying it. Though that whole idea… well it wasn't very obvious as to how to go about it.

It was two days since Albus came out to me, and when I was not torturing Scorp, I was looking out for him. I wanted to see the way he acted, to see if, now that I knew, it was really obvious. He actually did sort of flirt with Eric. I never noticed it. Not in the extremely obvious, spouting pick-up lines kind of way. But subtle. I wasn't sure if Eric was picking up on it, and whether or not he was bothered or turned on by it. ALbus caught me staring at the two of them one and glared at me horrifically for a good five minutes until I finally looked away.

That evening, Albus and I walked together down to the Quidditch Pitch. We were a little early, and the locker rooms were empty. Albus changed into his practice robes, while worked in my play book in the captain's office, tapping at the pictures on the paper to make them move across the page. Anyone watching me from outside would swear I'd gone off the deep end, what will I my muttering and grumbling to myself and mischievous laughter. Al actually poked his head in before he went out to circle the pitch a couple of times, just to make sure that I was not having a fit.

When the team finally got there, I gathered the together in the locker room for one of my chats with them. I had a magically charmed play board beside me, to demonstrate what I was attempting to say to them. Quidditch teams always needed visuals—I learned that in my second year when I was first on the team. James was especially good at being inarticulate. Things always made more sense to the captain than they did to the team.

"So this is what's going on," I told them, pointing proudly. "The Slytherin team has never been exactly… creative… but they've got a new captain. They're not dealing with that cow, Melanie Flint… I mean, that charming girl… as their captain anymore." Jessie snorted at that.

"They've got a new brain behind the brawn, and that brain is paralleled to mine, if not quite equal, if I do say so myself… Anyway, I doubt Malfoy is going to continue with Flint's strategies. Seeing as we pounded them into dirt in our two matches against them last year…" I smiled at the memory of Malfoy's face when he realized that it was Albus's hand around the snitch, not his… catapulting us into the finals between us and Ravenclaw, where we proceeded to murder the team with a final victory of two hundred forty to ten…

"Anyway, there are two ways this could go, and we have to be prepared for both. I know I've been running contrasting drills with you guys lately. The most difficult set will probably be the ones we use—that's for when Malfoy brings—if he does—completely brand new strategy. Or even new strategy mated with older strategy. And then the other set, which is what happens if he comes out with all of his old strategy, thinking we're not expecting it. Honestly, Malfoy is probably pretty sure I'm anticipating both things. We're both at a similar state. So I have four boards for you before we go out to practice—Board for offensive, defensive, offensive again, and then another one for defensive."

"Oh boy, she's overprepared again," Jessie said. "Get comfortable, ladies and gentlemen."

-CD-

When we drifted out onto the pitch, I let Fred and Mike release the bludgers and the snitch and quaffle so that we could practice with one hoop as if it was normal game play. Jessie hovered in front of the hoops, executing her flawless strategy. I did a sloth grip roll to avoid a bludger sent flying in the wrong direction by Fred who began to apologize profusely for almost knocking my head off.

It was in my roll that I realized we were not alone on the pitch. Sitting in the stands, was a person with an unmistakable head of white blonde hair. I had never flown faster in my life than I did at that moment. Scorpius was relaxed on his back, watching our practice.

"What the hell are you doing?" I demanded.

"Watching you practice," he said. Then he smirked. "It really turns me on."

"Get the hell out of here," I said, thanking the gods that he came in on us practicing our moves for if he were to bring out his old moves.

"Why?" he said. "It's a free world."

"Get. Out." I growled.

"No," he said.

"Get the hell out Malfoy, or I will blow you into a million little pieces," I said.

"You will blow me?" he said. "Oh I think I'll stick around."

"I will obliterate you!" I snapped. "Get out Malfoy."

"Make me," he said.

"I swear to Godric, Malfoy, get out of here, or I will… not have sex with you for three weeks."

He raised an eyebrow. "Is that an empty threat?"

"I wouldn't push your luck," I suggested. I for one could go without sex. I didn't know if he could, poor boy.

He glared at me and started to walk down from the stands, with me glaring after him. I didn't return until I was certain the little speck that he became once he approached the castle, wouldn't fit between my thumb and forefinger.

"Arse," I spat, joining my team.

"You're spying on his practice tomorrow, though, right?" Lily asked.

"Of course I am," I said. "But that's beside the point."

My team grinned at me. We had to beat Slytherin. There was more at stake than the cup. There was my pride, and they would suffer the consequences if I lost that.

-CD-

_Next Chapter: More from Draco Malfoy... and "You actually sounded concerned about me" she accused. _

_"No," I said. "I was concerned that you were going to die."_

_"Which is concerned about me..."_


	15. Chapter 15

_**A/N: **__I posted early, because this afternoon, I finished writing this fanfic. It's my first ever finished one, and I hope you all like it an are willing to stick around for the grand total 50 chapters 1 Epilogue, and over 105,000 words. Enjoy!_

Chapter 15

Scorpius:

Rose Weasley was hot to begin with. To see her stripping down in short muggle athletic shorts and a sports' bra, bent over so that her arse was pointed in my direction as she felt the temperature of the water in the bath. How was it that even bent over, her stomach was still flat.

I cleared my throat, and she jumped, whirling to look at me. Her hair was in a loose ponytail that fell over her shoulders in a scraggly curly way. Definitely too hot for her own good. For my own good.

"What're you doing here, Malfoy?" she demanded, clearly still grumpy with me for interrupting her Quidditch practice.

"The room let me in," I replied.

"Yes, I can see that," she said, rolling her eyes. "Get out. I'm trying to take a bath here."

"I can see that," I said, rolling my eyes right back at her. How did I win this one? I wasn't even sure how we were fighting at this point. It just seemed like it was how things were. Something to bicker about… well we found it.

I walked over and snapped her bra strap, pulling her close to me. I kissed her neck furiously.

"Malfoy," she said. "Honestly…"

"You're being obnoxious," I told her.

"That _is _the plan," she said sweetly, grabbing me by the front of my shirt.

"I know what your plan is, Weasley," I growled. "You want to get me in your control. I'm telling you, you can take away whatever you want, but you're not going to own me, Weasley, I promise you. You _can't. _own me."

"But I can control you a little," she said, still keeping her voice sweet.

"No, you can't, Weasley," I said, even though she was definitely wrong. She already had control over me. But letting her know that would just give her more control. So… I was sort of screwed at this point. Or at least… well I wanted to be.

"Malfoy, I am not going to shag right now," she said. "So you can go away."

"No thanks," I said, breathing in her shockingly good and fresh scent as I brushed my teeth across her neck.

"Look," she said. "What do you think you're going to gain by watching me?"

"I'm not sure," I said. "A free show?"

Honestly the girl was going to kill me. She had her wand in front of her, in my face, and I had no idea where it came from.

"Malfoy, you are a repulsive slime bag," she said scathingly.

"And you're a disgusting Weasley whore," I returned. "I don't see the problem."

I had my wand out then too, aiming it at her.

"I am not a whore," she said icily, moving closer to me. I flicked my wand to the side, and she was pushed back three feet by an invisible force. She glared at me.

"Come on, Weasley," I said. 'We haven't had an actual real duel yet this year. We might as well get on with it, yeah?"

Her glare intensified. I didn't even see her move, and a thin snake of fire sprung across the room and skirted over my shoulder, singing just the very top of my white shirt. I returned it with a shocking spell, which she caught in her arm, but didn't once flinch at. Neither of us were defending ourselves. It was just pure offensive.

"I'm going to use you to wipe the floor of the Gryffindor locker room when I'm done with you this Saturday," she spat at me.

"What a threat," I said. "Too bad it won't be happening."

"We'll just have to see about that," she said.

"Weasley, someone wants to kill you. You'll be an easy target in the sky," I said. "Maybe I won't need any help."

"Or maybe they'll kill you because you're the actual target," she returned.

And then she whirled her head around, giving me a free shot at her. I didn't take it, however, as she ran quickly over to the edge of the pool. She took a deep, questioning breath and looked up at me.

"Do you smell that?" she demanded.

I raised my eyebrows. "Smell what?"

"Come here!' she said, beckoning me over.

"You're not going to shove me in!" I said.

"No, I'm not!" she said. "Merlin, Malfoy, get over here and smell."

I walked slowly over to her, my wand still ready. I knelt down next to her and sniffed in the direction of the water.

"Do you smell that?" she demanded.

I breathed in deeply, inhaling the suddenly strong scent. "It smells like sulfur."

"Exactly!" she said. "It's that potion professor Zabini was showing us on the very first day of potions this year."

"Which one?" I demanded. "And why the hell is it in the water?"

"The clear one," she said. "Oh… I don't remember the name… but it's extremely… well, lethal."

"Lethal?" I repeated. "Do you mean that someone is trying to kill you again?"

"Or you," she pointed out.

"Or me," I allowed. "How lethal is this potion?"

"Lethal enough that if you swallow the tiniest drop you fall over dead," she explained.

"Oh shit," I said, grabbing her arm and pulling her upright.

"Someone slept during the first day of potions," she commented. "Come on, we technically shouldn't even be inhaling so much of it. When we come back from getting McGonagall, we have to all put on bubble head charms."

I nodded as she pulled my Falcons shirt over her head.

"I want that back," I told her.

"But I like it!" she said, glaring at me as we walked out of the bathroom.

"So what potion is that?" I wondered.

"I don't know…" she said. "All I know is, these assassination attempts are really starting to bother me. How the hell did it get in the taps, I ask you?"

"That's a great question," I said as we walked toward McGonagall's office.

She coughed loudly.

"Are you all right?" I demanded.

"Oh yes," she said. "I'm still coughing from that damn pumpkin juice."

I nodded. After a moment of silent waking, I realized that she was smirking at me, looking sneakily out of the corner's of her eyes.

"What?" I said.

"You actually sounded concerned about me," she accused.

"No," I said. "I was concerned that you were going to die."

"Which is concerned about me," she pointed out.

"No," I said. "What I' concerned about is whether or not the girl I like to fuck is going to drop dead—so I know in advance if I have to find a new one."

"You could always go back to Rachel," she suggested.

I glared at her. "Rachel just gives better hand jobs than you do—other than that…" I said that just to piss her off.

It worked.

"Excuse me!" she shouted.

"I'm just saying," I said. "I'm not saying you're bad at it, Rose, really… just that, she's better."

"Oh my…" she said. "Oh my… fuck… what the hell?"

She was furious. The nice thing about this odd relationship I had with Rose Weasley was that I was learning exactly which buttons to push. And then of course I was happily, happily pushing them.

Still fuming, she spat the password to McGonagall's gargoyle and we rode up to the top together. I was, of course, chuckling under my breath the entire time. But that was just for fun.

-CD-

Enter, Draco Malfoy. My father looked around at the state of my dormitory. His last time here, he didn't get the time to give it his thorough inspection. My damn lucky roommates enjoyed the comfort of knowing their parents would never get to see the state they lived in. Somehow, my father always managed to make his way into my room to see.

Thankfully this was not the day after Rose came to share my bed for the evening. So my father was lucky enough to see my bed in a moderately neat state—not made or anything, but not… a victim of an intense shagging, basically. The most incriminating part of dorm was perhaps our choice of decoration. We plastered the walls with Slytherin banners and Quidditch posters, as well as pictures of exceedingly beautiful muggle girls. That was the only thing that could possibly make my father mad. And he'd seen it before.

"You look like you're not living in a sty," Dad said to me.

"Glad you see it that way," I said.

"It's nothing compared to how it was when I was in school here," he said, laughing a little. "I had the room next door though… And there were six of us that year."

"You've told me," I said, laughing. "We generate enough mess just the four of us."

"Small class of Slytherins," he commented.

"See, house divisions are less than they were when you were in school," I said. "Gryffindors date Slytherins, and Slytherins date Hufflepuffs—seriously, I know. And I mean, I have a couple Gryffindor friends, and a ton of Ravenclaw friends. Perhaps not a slew of Hufflepuff friends, but that's because they're just all so… nice."

He laughed at that. "I know what you mean. So nice it's actually painful."

"Exactly," I said. "At least Ravenclaws and Gryffindors judge people just as harshly as I do. Or at least know what it's like to be capable of cynicism."

Dad shook his head. "I miss school. I miss the first four years, I think, at least. Five was when things started to get rough, actually. Sometimes it was a little difficult, mostly because my father was certain that I had to grind Harry Potter into dust beneath my shoe… which was shockingly impossible."

"Like you told me to do with Weasley?" I said.

He turned to me abruptly. "It was _nothing _like I told you do with Weasley. I just don't think I could stand to see someone of your mental capacity falling second to someone spawned from Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. We've had our differences in the past, and now, as we no longer fight on obligatory opposite sides, we must compete somehow. So how it going then?"

'Rose Weasley and I are neck and neck," I said. "Perpetually."

"Well one of you will pull ahead this weekend. A Quidditch match! I won't disown you if you lose, but bear in mind I might stop sending you money for your Hogsmeade weekends."

"I'll remember that," I said. "I'm just worried about their chasers. Albus Potter and I are fairly matched seekers… but against Lily Potter, Lucy Weasley, and Rose Weasley, my chasers—the best I could find mind you—look like first years."

"Just hope that you have a good keeper," he said.

"Paul's a decent keeper," I said, pointing to my friend's bed. "But if he can stand up to them I don't know… So I guess I just have to be the first to catch the snitch…"

"Yes," Dad said. "I guess that's what you have to do…"

I laughed. "Really, I need the Hogsmeade fun, Dad… How else am I going to spoil all of my lady friends?"

"Scorpius, if you are anything like I was in my Hogwarts days, you have other ways of spoiling your 'lady friends.'"

I blanched—a feat for a Malfoy, mind you—and then color flooded my cheeks.

"I know what it's like to be seventeen, Scorp, don't forget it," he said, laughing brightly and clapping me on the shoulder. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go help your headmistress discover how a potion containing suspicious amounts of spine of lionfish ended up in your bath. You listen to me, Scorpius, watch out for yourself. Someone in this school—student or teacher—is out to harm you or Miss Weasley, and they don't seem to care if they kill two birds with one stone. All right?"

I nodded.

-CD-

Next Chapter: Gryffindor versus Slytherin


	16. Chapter 16

**_A/N This is a mildly shorter chapter than usual. Pick a side. Rose or Scorpius. Gryffindor or Slytherin. Thanks to all who review!_**

Chapter 16:

Rose:

All murder attempts asides, I was pretty energized and carefree when the morning of the Quidditch match dawned. Usually, I was not a morning fan. Unless, however, it was a match weekend. Then, I was up before anyone, for one quick beautiful glide over the roof of the castle on my Firebolt 2020, landing just in time for a nice hearty breakfast, where I sat with no one but my team at one end of the Gryffindor table, where the occasional well-wisher would send their regards, but for the most people, most of the world left us alone. I forced them all to eat healthy, ignore the Slytherins who had their own pre-game rituals.

Malfoy and his teammates clustered at one end of the Slytherin table too, signing hearty choruses of anti-Gryffindor songs that some intelligent fourth year had written a bunch of years ago, or pro-Slytherin songs, and passing around something that was a mildly suspicious alcohol in a flask. Each of them took one small drink and then Malfoy tucked the flask into the front of his robes. To break before the match, the whole team put their hands in the middle of a circle and chanted a shockingly bloodthirsty war cry.

My team was silent. We had more of a Zen approach. We stayed quiet, but not nervous. When it was time to get up and head out to the pitch, we all stood, and walked away in a creepy synch to applause from our table. By the time we were on the grounds, we'd formed an odd V, with me at the point, flanked by Albus and Jess, then Mike and Fred behind them, and Lily and Lucy bringing up the rear. For some reason, no matter the team roster, a similar V was always made.

The Slytherins on the other hand, broke into a sprint as soon as they were in the fresh air, hooting loudly and yelling as they darted toward the pitch. I was pretty sure if you didn't sprint the whole time you got kicked off the team. But I could be mistaken.

"Perfect conditions," I said looking up at the sky. It was cloudy, but not dark, and not cold. "The sun isn't going to blind us, and there's just the right amount of breeze. Ideal day, actually. But we have to remember that just because the weather is good, doesn't mean it isn't also good for the other team. This benefits them too."

"Can we wait for the pep talk?" Jess said. "How about after we're changed, Captain?"

"Right," I said, nodding promptly.

We were silent the rest of the way to the locker room. The team changed in silence, each of us stowing our wands somewhere on our bodies, just in case—mine wasn't just because the Slytherin team liked to play dirty, but also because I never knew at this point when someone was going to try to knock me out of the sky.

"Okay team," I said, pulling my hair back into the tightest ponytail I could manage, then yanking on my gloves. "We've got this. Do you know how I know that?"

They didn't say anything.

"Exactly," I said. "I don't know that. I was foul at divination. But I know that we have what it takes to win. We have a strong team, a lot of talent, and a lot of hardwork. And we have morals and brains too. Just use it all out there. Don't hold back. This sets the stakes for the rest of the year, okay?"

They all nodded.

"Don't let me down," I said.

-CD-

Scorpius:

My team looked up at me expectantly. We were dressed in our best, robes on, black gloves comfortable, broken in.

"All right, mates," I said. "I think we're ready. We have to win today for a lot of reasons—the least of which is, Rose Weasley will not let me forget it in bed if I lose to her. The most of which, I want the Quidditch cup. This my one and only chance as captain. I don't get to do it next year. This is it for me, and Eric, Paul and Rachel. So make it count for us. I've seen what we can do, gentlemen, and lady. We are capable and we are ready. We just can't let them get the better of us—because they're not better than us. I'm not catching the snitch unless I know we'll win. If for some reason our chasers have been murdered by theirs, and we're losing one-sixty to zero, I'm waiting until we catch up. Before we catch up I have a new goal: keep Potter away from the snitch. Do you understand? The only way we're losing is if Potter gets around me.'

I didn't let them know how possible that was.

They all nodded and stood up from the benches.

As we walked out onto the pitch, the announcer, Rose's friend Nina Lascombe called our names. "The Slytherin team, captained by seeker Scorpius Malfoy, with keeper Paul Carmichael, Chasers Rachel Brown, Ian Pucy and Todd Kirk, and Beaters, Eric Whitman and Warren Montague." When Rose's team entered the field, their names were listed too. "The Gryffindors, captained by chser Rose Weasley, with seeker Albus Potter keeper Jess Wood, chasers Lily Potter and Lucy Weasley and beaters Mike Finnigan and Fred Weasley."

Madame Watson, our referee and flying instructor dropped the case of balls down on the grass in between the teams and then looked at us.

"All right," she said. "I want this clean, and safe and professional, do you hear me?"

Rose nodded. I kept my face trained on her.

"_Malfoy!" _Watson growled. "_Do you hear me?"_

I nodded.

"Captains, shake hands," she ordered.

I reached out and shook Rose's hand. Last year, when it was James, he and the other captain used t osee how hard they could squeeze each other's hands until someone's bones were crushed. Today, I choose to insult Rose by giving her a gentle and proper handshake. She in turn squeezed my fingers just as hard as her cousin used to, smirking at me.

"Good luck, Malfoy," she said sweetly.

"Yes, may the best man win," I said, drawing from the old snub of pointing out that, sadly, if my words came true, she could not win.

"Teams, mount your brooms," Watson said. Rose swung her leg over the broom.

"On my whistle, the game will begin," the referee said, sticking a silver whistle in her mouth.

She blasted on it once, and we all kicked off into the air.

"The quaffle is released, immediately taken by Gryffindor Captain, Rose Weasley, she could give last year's captain, James Potter, a run for his money in chasing. Rose Weasley passes to Lucy Weasley who dodges a bludger sent her way by Eric Whitman of Slytherin. Lucy Weasley passes to Lily Potter, who returns it to their captain—oh she's going to shoot—and score! Ten points to Gryffindor, with the first goal of the game."

I cussed gently and shot a look at Paul who glared back at me and continued his circling of the hoops. I got what he was saying. It wasn't his fault that Rose had such amazing chasers on her team.

The problem with being a captain seeker was that it was very hard to watch the game and find the snitch. Rose Weasley could shout ideas at her team all the time. I however, had to remain focused on the little golden ball.

"Another ten point to Gryffindor!" Nina's voice rang out. "Rose Weasley is leading her team quickly to an early lead."

I cussed under my breath and narrowed my eyes. I could see my father's white blonde head in the crowd, watching me. I ignored him and looked for gold, taking a gentle loop of the field while Albus Potter performed a chain of bloated figure eights.

A half an hour in, Gryffindor was leading, seventy to twenty. Jess Wood and Rose and her chasers were murdering my team. Which meant, well, that I had to pick up the pace in training. But my more immediate approach was to get the snitch. I had to beat Albus Potter to it. There was no question.

Rose winked at me as she flew by, so I reassessed my approach. Dipping low beneath game play, I flew along upside down, trying to see anything from below that Albus Potter would miss from high above. I did several laps that way.

"This does not appear to be shaping up very well for the Slytherin team,' Nina announced. "Captain Malfoy does not look very pleased with his team."

I glared at her as Rose Weasley laughed, shooting by me with the quaffle. She passed it to Lily, who shot, getting another goal.

"Paul!" I said. "What the hell are you doing? Look like you actually know how to defend a goal post, yeah?"

Paul glared at me. "Shut up Scorpius."

"And, now," Nina said. "It appears that Malfoy is getting into an argument with his keeper. I don't think that's particularly productive, but to each his own I suppose. Especially since I'm a Gryffindor and therefore encourage Malfoy to continue his chatter, postponing his hunt for the snitch."

I nearly flew my broom over to her and knocked her upside the head, but I refrained.

"Eric! I don't care what you have to do at this point, just keep them from scoring—but _don't _get a foul," I hissed at my friend as I passed him.

"All right," he said, moving to follow a bludger. We did have that up on the Gryffindor team. Eric and Warren were, together, four times the beaters in Fred and Mike. Mike Finnigan was worse than the fifth year, Rose's cousin. And then, Eric and Warren were much better even than that. However, there were two of them, and three chasers to aim at. Poor Lucy probably felt horrible that Fred and Mike weren't guarding her, but they were focused on their strongest chasers, Rose and Lily to keep them from getting knocked off their brooms. Which was good for the Gryffindors, as they were being successfully aimed at by my beaters.

I was nodding happily at them when I saw it; The flash of gold out of the corner of my eye.

-CD-

_Next Chapter: What happens when two Gryffindors intrude upon a Slytherin party...?_


	17. Chapter 17

**_A/N: Hello! Okay, so I'm updating pretty much every single day. This will not continue. I'm on break and therefore have nothing to do but post to fanfic and read reviews. It's kind of addictive. Anyway, next week, when I'm actually required to redevelop a work ethic, this updating every day thing will cease to exist. It will be every other, every three, but no more than every four days. Hope you are still enjoying. Read, review, thanks to all that always without fail give me their input!_**

Chapter 17

Scorpius:

Albus Potter was on the other side of the pitch. No matter what, if I caught the snitch now, we would win. I dove quickly after it, arm already outstretched.

"And it looks as if Scorpius Malfoy has seen the snitch. Damn it! I mean… oh what the hell. Get your arse over there Albus!" Nina yelled loudly.

But it was too late. The golden snitch was in my hand. And Rose Weasley was cussing so loudly, I was pretty sure the rest of Scotland could hear her.

"Scorpius Malfoy has caught the snitch. Slytherin wins."

I landed on the ground, the snitch fluttering in my hand. Albus Potter was gone. I wasn't even sure if he landed. And my team was on top of me. Rose Weasley was standing back with her team, and Jess was patting her back consolingly.

"I win," I said.

"Slytherin wins, one hundred eighty to one hundred," Nina said, trying to keep disappointment out of her voice.

-CD-

Scorpius:

We Slytherins, like any other respectable Hogwarts house, truly know how to throw a party. With butterbeer for the little ones, and some stronger stuff for anyone who knew who to get it from. Which meant I had it, if anyone was wondering. I had a nice big cup of something that I was drinking illegally in Britain.

As a tea we were all draped with emerald and silver banners like capes around our necks. The team had already recognized it as an almost single-handed victory on my part. After the game, while they'd been cheering, I took them into the locker room and yelled at them that our victory was pure luck. The truly best team in the school was the Gryffindor team. Watching them play, I knew that. To win the actual cup, we needed to really step it up. Rose Weasley was not going to take a defeat lying down. She would soon grind Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw into the dirt, and maybe, if we were lucky, we would face them in the finals. It was already very certain.

My father had come by to congratulate me on my win, before departing for home. Rose and I had been instructed to continue to use our bathroom, but to give it a once over of detection spells before we entered and never get in the water without performing other tests.

I was several drinks into the party when Eric tapped me on the shoulder.

"What?" I demanded. He pointed me in the direction of the common room entrance. Rose Weasley was standing there, looking proud, and very unobtrusive in a black t-shirt and ripped up jeans. She caught sight of e and walked sinuously through the crowd in my direction.

"What are you doing here?" I wondered when she reached me.

"Crashing," she said. "I thought I would come and congratulate you."

"Oh," I said. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she said. "You're a good seeker."

"Albus and I are equals," I said. "He was just on the wrong side of the field at the wrong time."

She nodded. "I keep telling him that. He was so distraught. We're fairly certain he was trying to drown himself in the shower… Fred had to go in there and drag him out. When we got back to the dormitory, he went up to his room for a while. I think he thought he might stop over though, and congratulate you guys."

"Well thanks," I said. "I think that would be pretty big of him, after losing."

"We didn't lose," she said. "I mean… we lost… but it's not going to happen again, you know."

"I know that," I said.

"Good," she said, laughing a little.

"Do you want a drink?" I wondered, leaning over to get some of the strong stuff in a red cup for her.

"Thanks," she said, knocking back a hefty sip.

"Your team is pretty good, Weasley," I said. Usually, I would be rubbing dirt in her wounds at this point. But honestly, I was already a little drunk, and she was already clearly upset about the loss. She looked upset, though she would never actually let me know with her words.

"Thanks," she said. "Yours kind of… isn't."

"I know," I said. "It was the best we had."

"Actually, your teams is really good, but your keeper… is worthless," she said.

"No, your chasers are just really good," I contradicted.

"We are amazing," she said, laughing a little.

"Do you want to play Quidditch?" I wondered.

"I don't know," she said. "My goal is to be an auror, actually. Or at least, that's the plan after Hogwarts." If I wasn't mistaken at this point, she was more than a little drunk already herself. I imagined there was a bit of a mourning party occurring in the Gryffindor common room at this time.

"Is it?" I said. "That's my goal."  
"The auror field is very competitive," she pointed out.

"Well may the best man win," I said, raising my cup to her.

"Or woman," she argued, smacking her plastic cup against mine.

She laughed a little, shaking her head.

"But say… hypothetically," I said as she downed the rest of her drink and reached for another one. "If someone asked you to play for them… would you?"

She paused for a moment, thinking about it. "Yes, probably. But I mean… after today's match, why would they want you."

"Because you scored seventy of your team's one hundred points," he said. "In a short game, actually."

She shrugged. "Whatever. We still lost."

I snorted. "Weasley, what did I say?"

She just looked down at her drink, before chugging some more of it. "I hate this."

I hugged her all of a sudden, not exactly sure what I was doing in my drunkenness. She hugged me back, and then she was sobbing against my chest.

"Whoa…" I said, not good with tears in general. "Weasley… Rose…"

"I'm sorry," she said angrily, wiping at her face as if she was pissed at herself for crying. Which she probably was, when I thought about it. But she was drunk, so I had to cut her some slack. She ought to cut herself some too.

"No," I said. "It's all right." I put my arms around her as she knocked back the rest of the drink. She was treating full cups like massive shots.

"I enjoy being drunk," she said, laughing a little.

"How much have you had?" I wondered.

"I think this," she said, picking up another cup. "Will be my sixth…"

"I'm cutting you off," I said taking the drink out of her hand and drinking it myself.

She pouted at me, before wrapping her arms around me and starting to kiss my neck aggressively.

"You know, you're not the stereotypical good girl Weasley, are you?" I wondered.

"Have I not proved this yet?" she asked.

-CD-

Rose:

I don't think we shagged. I was pretty sure we both just dropped dead on his bed, half under the covers, half on top of each other.

Sometime in the middle of the night, my stomach decided it was not fond of the alcohol I put in it. I darted to the dorm bathroom and started to hurl into their toilet. Always pleasant. But sometimes bad things happened.

Scorpius pushed his way into the bathroom then, in just his boxers.

"Oh… bloody hell," he said, rubbing his forehead. "I suppose this is the point in time where I'm supposed to hold your hair."

"You don't have to," I said, vomiting again at the end of my words.

He muttered some spell under his breath, and then I felt him pull my hair back away from my face. He rubbed my back gently for a moment.

"Thank you," I said.

"You're welcome," he said.

When I was certain my stomach was free of alcohol, I leaned back against the wall.

"Open your mouth," he said.

"I'm not giving you a blow job," I informed him.

"I didn't think you would," he said, shaking his head—which was in a bubble head charm. Apparently he couldn't stomach the smell of my vomit. I opened my mouth and he pointed his wand into it. After a moment, all I tasted was minty fresh flavor.

He smiled at me. "Better?"

"Much," I said. "I always feel better after I barf up all the alcohol."

"Unbelievable, isn't it?" he said, laughing. "Come on, let's get back in bed."

He pulled me to my feet, and we walked back into the main room of the dorm. Paul and Steve's beds were empty, which meant they were probably passed out in the common room. Eric was asleep, but the lump in his bed was unusually large. Just as I climbed into bed, I recognized a mess of black hair that was very… well familiar, and contrasting from Eric's light brown. I stared for a moment, and Scorpius followed my gaze with his eyes.

"What…?" he said, sitting up.

"I don't know," I said, pushing him back down. I slid on top of him, starting to kiss him gently on the lips. He reacted as I expected, putting his hands on my hips and falling into the kiss.

"Mm," he said. "I'm still drunk."

"I know," I said, sucking on his lower lip for a moment.

He slid his hands up under my newest borrowed t-shirt, one from a different Quidditch team—I was pretty sure he had one from the entirety of the British and Irish League. This one was black and red, for the Ballycastle Bats. He did profess, however, that the team that held his allegiance was Pride of Portree. Mine, on the other hand, was the Holyhead Harpies. I couldn't help myself.

"Damn!" I heard a shout from behind us.

Scorpius pulled away from me, looking over at Eric's bed, which was the source of the noise. I followed his gaze to see both Eric and Albus wide awake, shirtless and staring at each other with absolute masks of horror, pushed as far as possible to other sides of the bed.

"Oh my god," Scorpius said, starting to laugh. "This is what happens when people get drunk. I didn't even know you were in Slytherin territory, Potter. Good game today."

Albus was completely oblivious to Scorpius talking. He and Eric just continued to stare at each other, and I stared at them, mute.

And then suddenly, as if they didn't know we were here, Albus and Eric were kissing each other. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Scorpius's jaw plummet so that it would have to be picked up off the floor.

-CD-

_Next Chapter: "Cue middle of the night realization you were in bed together?" I offered. _

_"Pretty much," He said. _


	18. Chapter 18

**_A/N: Happy Easter everyone! Super early post (for me) today. it's not even 6 am... _**

Chapter 18.

Rose:

"What… the… hell?" Scorpius said, looking at me for support.

"Let's just let them be," I suggested, putting my arms around him.

"I… I think my best friend is gay, Rose," he said.

"Good inference," I said, pushing him onto his back. He slid his hands up under my shirt again, keeping his eyes open.

"I… are they going to…?" he wondered.

"Let them be, Scorpius," I ordered.

"I'm sorry, I'm processing," he said.

"Does it bother you?" I wondered.

"What?" he said. "No… no… I just… would've liked to know."

I was just happy for Albus. Either Eric was very, very wasted, or Albus had the best gaydar in the entire world. I supposed the phrase "takes one to know one" came in handy here.

"Just calm down and let it be…" I said softly, reaching up to touch his face. We were getting along very well, Scorpius and I. It was scary.

He nodded, removing his hands from my shirt and just wrapping his arms around me. He spread out on his back, pulling me in close to him, but so my back was to him, spooning. He gently rested his chin on my shoulder, tangling our legs together, his arms around me.

"Go to sleep," I told him gently. He kissed my shoulder and breathed a sigh against my skin.

"You go to sleep too," he said, waving his wand so that the lights in the dormitory were extinguished. The bed was nice and warm, warming pans having been stuck between the sheets by amazing house-elves. And he was warm too. The lack of space between caused a wonderful transfer of heat from his bare chest to my back, our legs sharing warmth. I took a deep breath and happily drifted.

-CD-

Rose:

I woke to a Slytherin dorm full of four hung-over, groaning individuals, two Slytherin, two Gryffindor. Scorpius sat next to me, holding his head in his hands, as if, to him, it weighed a hundred pounds. The muted light being emitted from under a green lampshade pierced my eyes. In the bed over, Albus and Eric were having another staring contest, with each other, as if neither of them remembered the night before.

"What time is it?" Albus's voice asked.

"Ten," Malfoy said. "Breakfast is over."

"To the kitchens," I said swinging my legs off the bed and finding my jeans.

The four of us walked in silent stupor up from the dungeons. Scorpius didn't say anything to Albus and Eric—I figured he was still trying to figure out _what _to say when he said it. If he said it. They weren't really looking at each other. But they weren't being awkward. I imagined that if Eric hadn't been a fan of anything that happened that he would have a lot more to say about it at this point. Instead, he and Al walked about six inches away from each other, both of them with their hands in their pockets, looking at the ground as they followed Scorp and me.

When we entered the kitchens, the house-elves began to treat us happily to treats and breakfast food, scones and tea and coffee. Scorpius and Eric headed off after a couple of them to help them carry over a big plate of waffles, even though the elves didn't really want their help.

"So what happened?" I demanded of Albus.

"Well…" he said. "I came into the Slytherin common room, and you were in serious liplock with Malfoy, so I sort of just floated around talking to a few other people. Eric came over to tell me that it was a good game and all of that… And we were just talking to each other for awhile—meanwhile I'm hyperventilating, because he's standing quite close to me.

"Then he said he had a question for me, about something he was wondering, and he really didn't want me to take offense to it, because it didn't matter to him. He just wanted to know. And he asked me if I was gay. I was a little offended—because usually you don't just ask someone that…"

"And so you replied with?" I prompted.

"He saw that I _was _taking offense, and he said 'Look, I'm just wondering, because… well… I've never told anybody about this before but… well, I am.' Yeah."

"I see," I said. "He says well a lot."

"To tell you the truth, I was just in awe," he said, ignoring me. "You have no idea. I mean, I like him, but I always thought my chances were slim to none of him reciprocating."

"Well, what did you say?" I said. It was as if he thought that by answering he would be subjected to a Dementor's kiss. Seriously. "Keep going with the story here, Al."

"Right," he said. "Well, I said, 'Oh.' That was it. Just 'oh.' And he was completely embarrassed at that point, like he had said something he really shouldn't have said. He just said 'oh bloody hell…' and started to walk away. I grabbed his shoulder though, and I said, 'How did you know?'"

"Romantic," I commented, laughing.

"Hardly," he said. "But then he just kept looking at me, his turn to be in awe. And then he grinned. I don't think anything was really… happening. We were just going to talk. But there was a lot of acohol there Rose. I think you found that out too… and after a couple of drinks, we sort of just… well honestly, I don't remember all that much."

"Cue middle of the night realization that you are in bed with each other?' I suggested.

"Pretty much," he said. "That was a big surprise. And then I guess it was just sort of… okay at that point."

"What happened do you have any idea?" I wondered.

"Well, I think we just kissed," he said. "Shirts were off, though, but we both had our jeans on still… I don't know. I know we kissed, obviously. You saw that too."

"Yeah," I said. "And how was it?"

"Pretty good," he said, blushing. "I don't know…"

"You don't need to be embarrassed, Al," I said. "I tell you how my life is, tell me how yours is. Is Eric everything you dreamed he would be?"

"I don't know, Rose," he said. "We'll see, right?"

"So what happens from here on out?" I said. "Do you… tell people? Or is this a secret."

"I don't know," he said, looking up at me thoughtfully.

"No matter what, I've got your back, Al. You know that," I said.

"I know that," he said. "Just as I have yours."

'I know," she said. "Love you, Albus."

"I love you too, Rose," he said, giving me a hug. I laughed a little bit as he picked me up in the air. Tall, lean and muscled Albus Potter… what would the girls of Hogwarts do when they realized that one of the top most envied boys in the entire school was interested in a whole other league? The thought made me chuckle a little. Especially because I knew I had a bit of a claim on one of the others—at least, I know our shagging was exclusive. I wasn't exactly sure what my claim was otherwise.

"This could get really confusing," AL said.

"I know," I said. "I think it already was confusing though, So this will probably just be a continuation of the same."

"You're probably right," he said. "Nothing's ever sane, normal, or uncomplicated happens at Hogwarts."

"I know," I said, shaking my head.

"I wish," he said morosely.

-CD-

Scorpius:

I closed the door of the dormitory behind Eric and me, casting a silencing charm and sealing the door with a charm only Eric himself could open.

"Talk to me," I ordered.

"About what?" he questioned innocently.

"Potter," I said. "Look, Eric, mate, why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell _you _Scorp?" he said. The he laughed. "Gee I don't know. Yeah. Okay. That was definitely my plan." He rolled his eyes.

"Why not?" I demanded, crossing my arms.

"Because," he said. "You're hardly the supportive type, mate. I thought you would take it badly. Be… creeped out by it or something… I don't know."

"Eric," I said. "I'm… you're my best mate… Have been since we were eleven. Why would I?"

"Because," he said simply. "I'm not interested in girls, Scorpius. I'm interested in guys. Guys. You're a guy. Doesn't that sort of bother you?"

"Are you attracted to me?" I wondered.

"Not in the slightest," he said simply.

"See?" I said. Though I sort of wondered if that ought to offend me.

"But what if I was?" he asked. "What would you do?"

"It wouldn't matter," I said.

"Are you sure?" he said.

"Why does this matter?' I said.

"Because, Scorp," he said. "I find it very plausible that this would make you uncomfortable. How now to we proceed in Quidditch locker rooms, and dorm rooms?"

"Eric, I have no problem bearing my wares in front of you. It's nothing you haven't seen before," I said. "Just because you might actually enjoy looking at it—and I use the term might for a reason—then whatever. It's not like you didn't enjoy it before. I just didn't know then."

He crossed his arm. "I'm not trusting this."

"Why not?" I demanded.

"Scorp, you're the biggest manly player of all," he said, snorting.

"And so that automatically makes it not okay that you're gay?" I wondered. He flinched at my loose reference.

"I didn't say that," he said. "I just see you having problems with this?"

"Eric, if I say I don't have a problem with it, then I don't have a bloody problem with it," I snapped.

He stared me in the eye for a moment. "It doesn't repulse you?"

I shook my head. "Of course not."

"Are you sure?" he said. "Let me know, Scorpius."

"You've been my best mate since we were eleven," I said again. "We'll get through it, all right? But just to clear things up, I'm completely interested in women."

He rolled his eyes. "I couldn't have guessed."

"Right," I said. "Well, don't worry. I'm okay with this. I just was caught off guard. By you and Potter both. Imagine that… But let me know if you're telling people, or what, okay? And… well if you need me to hex any of the bastards that roam our school, let me know. I'm been experimenting around with some weird spells, and I need to new test pieces."

He laughed. "Thanks, Scorp."

"You know, despite what a lot of people think, I'm actually a decent person," I said.

"I know you are," he said.

"Yeah, well tell it to the rest of the school," I muttered.

"They just see you interacting with Rose Weasley, and you're a prick to her. And you two argue very loudly and get into mildly destructive duels," he said. "It's bound to draw attention."

I shook my head. "Right…"

I looked at him for a moment, standing there in front of me in jeans and a gray t-shirt, his hair rumpled from sleep still, body hunched, not standing straight. He looked at the wooden floor of the dormitory, away from me."

"Are you… okay?" I wondered.

"I don't know," he said. "Things kind of suck. But I guess it's better now that you know. For right now I'd like to keep it from the guys. They might not take it the right way."

"I can do that," I said, grinning. "Well I'm going to go take a bath."

'Try not to die," he said.

"I will do my best," I said.

At this point, my friends and Rose's friends had decided to say the words "try not to die" every time we went to our bathroom, as things were truly a death hazard in there.

I thought for a moment, about my best mate. It didn't matter to me. I spoke the truth when I said that. Life was going to keep going, seconds would still tick by. Nothing changed.

But maybe that wasn't the truth. The entire world had shifted this year, already. It didn't necessarily have anything to do with Eric, but maybe his confession was part of it. There was just so much going on, stuff I never expected would go on.

Life would continue. I understood that. But how? I felt the shift underneath me. It was as if the world was still spinning, but differently. Something had changed in the air. Maybe I was just not used to the shift in seasons, the entering chill. But I didn't think so.

-CD-

_Next Chapter: We head briskly toward the end of Part One... (don't worry part 2 is like 1.5x as long) But next chapter, the prologue (which I guess, for literary sake, is not TECHNICALLY a prologue, so sorry, I thought it was, now it's not, la, la, la) next chapter the prologue is revisited... _


	19. Chapter 19

_**A/N: Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! That's all... **_

Chapter 19:

Scorpius:

I'd seen weird things in my days at Hogwarts. I'd seen guys have to get a certain reproductive organ reattached after a break up with a with a particular angry and talented witch. I'd seen people swap heads in spells gone wrong, and people spontaneously acquire a coat of elephant skin, or feathers or scales. And that was only the beginning of it.

In my time at Hogwarts, I had seen many Weasley's or Weasley relatives (and by translation, that means Potters). Victoire was there in my first year, the oldest, and now Lily and Hugo, the youngest two, were present as fifth years. In my entire time, however, I had never seen a Weasley cry.

Until today.

It wasn't the right Weasley crying either. I would expect Lucy or Lily to occasionally break into tears, or maybe Roxanne, last year, or Molly… But never, in a million years did I anticipate this. I decided that she never anticipated for me to be a witness.

I stumbled upon her in a secret passageway where I once turned her hair black and she dyed my face blue for two days. She was leaning against the wall, just crying and I didn't, first of all, know what to do.

Crying was not my area of expertise. The only tool in my arsenal to brighten her mood was a cheering charm, and I imagined she would probably blast me into a million pieces if I pointed my wand in her face.

"Rose?" I said, sitting down next to her on the steps. "What's wrong, Rose?"

"Oh nothing," she said. "Go away, please."

"No," I said even though my rational mind was telling me to leave. She just looked really upset.

"Please," she begged, looking away from me.

"Rose…" I said, touching her shoulder gently. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she snapped, reaching up to furiously wipe at her eyes.

"Tell me the truth," I said.

"Why should I?" she demanded. "It's not as if you actually care, Scorpius, so really, it's okay. You don't have to pretend for me. I get that this relationship is nothing. You don't need to pretend it's actually something."

"Rose," I said. "I want to know."  
"I don't want to talk to you," she said, resting her forehead on the stone wall.

"Fine, don't talk," I said, putting my arms around her. That just made her start crying even harder. I sprung my arms back.

"Damn it, Rose," I said.

"Just stop, please," she begged. "Just stop."

"Come on," I said. "You can talk to me, Rose, really."

"I just…" she said. "It's a fun time of the month, Scorpius," she informed me.

I blanched. I didn't need to know that, truly, but it was helping me explain her irrational behavior.

"So I'm a little bit… emotional anyway," she said, leaning against my shoulder.

"Okay," I said, touching her hair gently. "Just talk if you want to talk Rose."

"I…" she said. "I'm just a little emotionally stressed right now… I don't know. We lost the Quidditch match, we have NEWTs coming up… I'm Rose fucking Weasley, which means I have a lot to live up to here…. I have Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger for parents… and I want to be an auror, or a chaser, and I don't know how to get there… And then there's Albus… and I worry about Hugo because he has to live up to me, now. It's just extra pressure on him. I'm getting all these murder attempts and… And then there's you… Well it's not you really, it's just the fact that I can't actually have a real relationship with anyone, apparently. Maybe it's my fault though. Maybe I just don't say… 'relationship' to anyone. I just say 'good fuck.' I mean, I allow it and all, but I don't know, there was Mike, and he would've been an actual relationship, but I just said no to him, opting for… this. This… thing I have with you."

"You don't have to Rose…" I said.

"You don't get it!" she said. "I want to… but damn it…"

"Dam what?" I said.

"I want something more!" she said.

I looked into her eyes for a moment, sliding away from her and walking down a couple of steps. "What… with me?"

Rose Weasley was my number one enemy. And yet… well she'd always been something else. Our conversations weren't just hate filled, but joking, flirting, some would call it. Eric called me out on it all of the time. I looked at her, and she didn't just turn me on, she made me laugh. We were similar personalities—which led to animosity, and attraction, I supposed. But… well I hadn't expected this.

What was I supposed to do? Our families would never get along, our histories clashed, and we clashed.

She just nodded at me. I met her eyes, and then I was knocked over.

I didn't even know what I was supposed to make of this. After seven years, I was finally giving what I'd always known to be true a chance. My name meant nothing anymore, my family's past was worthless here. When I was lost in those eyes, it didn't matter. Nothing mattered but her.

And as the soft and silent tear trickled slowly out of the corner of her eye, I felt as my entire world was shattering. All I wanted was to wipe that tear. Years of hatred weighted my hands to my sides and left me staring. She seemed frozen too, but her eyes burned into mine, alive with their own perfect blue fire.

And I was lost again. She had no idea what she did to me, clearly. I was swept away by the ocean-blue waves of her eyes—like the sea after a storm.

"Why are you crying?" I finally whispered, finding the muscles needed to move my lips. "Truthfully."

"Why?" she repeated the word as if it was foreign to her. She looked confused, like it tasted funny on her tongue.

"Why?" I breathed, gradually finding more muscles.

She moved before I could unfreeze myself, until she was standing mere inches away from me. Her fresh, rain scent flooded my nose and I felt the edges of my mind blur. I moved my arm—finally—and touched her shoulder again.

"Because I'm scared," she murmured.

"of what?" I wondered.

"Everything," she replied.

"Don't be afraid," I said. "You shouldn't be afraid."

And then I kissed her. I pulled her close to me. I took her face in my hands, very careful and gentle. She put her arms around me, and I felt tears from her eyes meet my skin.

"I still have every intention of hating you," she said. "Every intention of obliterating you in most of our classes. And in Quidditch."

"Okay," I said, laughing a little.

"And I don't… think we're actually ever going to get along," she said.

"Oh I agree," I said. "So be prepared to die, Weaslet."

"Right back at you, Ferret."

-CD-

Rose:

"Are you cold?" he asked, rubbing his hands down my arms. We sat at the edge of the lake, looking out over the water, which sparkled in the early evening sunlight. Soon we would have to head back to the school, do a sweep of the hallways like usual, make sure everyone was in their dormitory, or headed that way.

"No," I lied. I was just comfortable, sitting in between his legs and leaning back against his chest, happy and content to be there.

"You're lying," he said, pulling me closer to him.

"Mm,' I said. "You'll never know.'

""You're a bitch," he said.

"I know," I said.

"I suppose I'll have to slip you some veritaserum, right?"

"I'd like to see you try," I snorted, rolling my eyes.

'Weasley, you have no idea what I'm capable of."

"And you expect you know what _I'm _capable of?" I questioned, looking up at him.

"Well… you _are _a girl," he said.

"Which makes me a much more intelligent specimen," I retorted.

"The only thing that girls best guys at is multitasking," he said.

"Oh come on," I said. "Did you ever hear this phrase? Girls can do anything guys can do, only backwards in high heeled shoes?"

"Do you know what high heels are, Rose?" he wondered. "They are a male invention, designed to make it harder for you to run away."

"it's good thing I can apparate then," I said, just as he rolled over, pinning me underneath him against the grass." He leaned in and kissed me gently on the nose, then more passionately on the lips.

"I'd like to see you try," he said.

"Bear in mind Malfoy, that I am at an advantage here," I said.

"What would that be?"

"The short distance between my foot and your crotch," I said sweetly, kissing him again.

'I don't enjoy listening to you talk, Rose, so why don't you just shut up?" he suggested, refastening himself to my lips, starting to kiss them.

As soon as my tongue touched his lips, he opened them, letting me inside his mouth. He returned the kiss passionately, supporting himself on his elbows over me, our legs twined together.

"You're a good kisser," I said.

"Better than you?" he said.

"Well I've never kissed me, so we'll just have to call this one a tie," I said.

"Pretty much like everything else," he pointed out.

"Oh, Malfoy," I said. "So naive. I suppose you just don't want to admit that I'm beating you…"

"Now you're really shutting up," he said, glaring at me with his silver eyes and crushing my lips with his.

What were we even doing? My entire family at Hogwarts was confused by me—from Albus down to Lily and Hugo. I'd had to drag them all into a Weasley/Potter family meeting and swear them all to secrecy—which involved a lot of blackmail, actually, seeing as I was an expert secret keeper choosing to use my own powers for evil instead of good. Except for with Albus. I never had to threaten him because he just _got _things.

My only problem was, I didn't need the rest of my family finding out about Scorp through someone other than me. That would just not end well. I didn't imagine that it was going to end well anyway. There was just so much that the entire family wouldn't take kindly two. One, Scorpius's last name was Malfoy. Two, his father was Draco Malfoy. Three, Draco Malfoy was basically my parents' and uncle's arch enemy in their school years. Four, Draco was a Death Eater. Five, Draco had not exactly been best friends with the family since, despite getting over grudges and such. It was very unlikely that they would be pleased to welcome in Scorpius. They wouldn't hate him, but I doubted that they would start sending out wedding invitations or anything. They wouldn't let me be with him.

And it was actually a relevant question to ask about whether or not his family would welcome me in. I doubted it. If I was Draco Malfoy, despite getting over things that happened during the war… well I doubted he was over everything. He probably still didn't really get along with Uncle Harry, or my parents. Just because differences were reconciled didn't mean that people just grew up and moved on and got over long-held hatred.

Though if you asked me, Draco was just jealous of Uncle Harry's fame anyway.

In the long run though, it probably would not be an approved relationship in all directions. So for now, it was nothing but a secret between us—and my entire family of cousins.

End Part One

-CD-

_Next Chapter: Part 2: Rose and Scorpius begin their last ever Christmas Holiday_


	20. Chapter 20

_**A/N: It feels like it's been forever since I updated... **_

Part Two:

Chapter 20

Rose:

"Just… pick… something," I begged, nearly banging my head against the wall in agony. For a girl, I hated shopping. And shopping with Albus, who insisted on personally buying something for each of his immediate family members—and me, even though cousin gifts were sort of impossible to do in our family without going broke—well it was one hundred times worse. He had something for James, something for Aunt Ginny and something for me and Uncle Harry. All that was left was Lily.

Apparently Lils was impossible to shop for. I wouldn't know. Weasley tradition was immediate family, and then all contributing heftily to the family dinner at the Burrow. It was just easier. And so, on our December Hogsmeade trip, I had been dragged along to help Albus with Lily—despite being gay, he was not good at shopping. Especially for girls.

I tried not to dwell on the fact that I should have been in the Three Broomsticks with Al, Scorp and Eric, drinking warm and frothy amazing butterbeer, as opposed to traipsing through the snow, up and down the street, looking at the shops. Some of them twice.

"We were supposed to meet them fifteen minutes ago!" I complained.

"There!" he said, holding up the necklace he finally chose. It was silver, with three stones hanging in three different pendants.

"They change color based on your mood," he said. "Not like the Muggle mood rings that Great Aunt Petunia got us that one time when she was actually trying to be nice… They actually change."

"See, that's cool," I said. "Good choice. Now come on, please. I want butterbeer. Go pay."

I waited for him by the door of the shop, arms crossed, impatient. He finally reached me, and we headed back out in the freezing cold toward the pub.

Scorpius and Eric were chatting when we got there, waiting impatiently.

"Took you long enough," Scorpius said, stretching up to kiss me on the cheek.

"Blame Albus," I said, huffing as I plopped into the seat next to him and shook the snow out of my hair.

"I see," Eric said, shaking his head at his "friend/boyfriend/not sure what to call it."

To say that things had changed from October to this point would be an overstatement. No more attempts had been made on my life, or on Scorpius's for that matter. That didn't mean we let our guard down, of course, but it meant that we were a little relieved. Still, there was obvious concern. Why had the threats been made, and who made them? They were some pretty bloody good questions, if you asked me.

As for Albus and Eric… well… they didn't deny a relationship, but most of the school was in such solid certainty that they were both straight as bone, most of the questions that flitted about were all particularly skeptical. Not that the pair wasn't unusually close once or twice, or known to emerge from back corners of the library looking a little rumpled—I knew from making out aggressively. Most people just assumed they were just friends at this point.

I for one didn't see how I never knew Albus was gay. Now that I knew, it was in my face obvious. So I figured once the rest of the school found out they would be on the same page, all of them hitting themselves in the face going "Oh duh." The same went for Eric.

They were a cute couple. It was true. But the truth was, they weren't really ready to come out to anyone. As far as I knew, the only people who knew were Scorp, me, and the pair themselves. And that was okay. I just didn't know how long it would last until another Weasley family member stumbled upon the secret.

And there was, of course, me and Scorp. We were Hogwarts-rumor-mill official. I considered him my boyfriend and he considered me his girlfriend, and that was the important stuff. It was the definition of a love/hate relationship. Though the word love had not been used. In the entire time of being nice to each other—holding hands being public about our relationship—I had also succeeded in singing his eyebrows off for two days in a duel over who was stealing too much of the blanket in the night. In retaliation, he inked a mustache onto my face while I was sleeping and did some obnoxious spell that kept the ink from wearing off. I had to go to Madame Pomfrey to get it off. Other, similar situations had occurred, including me abandoning him in the secret passageway when he got his foot stuck in the false step when we were on our way to Potions for an important practical. The return for that one had been slipping something in my food at dinner that made me so sick I ended up having to go the hospital wing again. I imagined sometimes we felt bad, but we also got vindictive pleasure out of all of this.

He was a good guy. More or less. I couldn't actually deny it. There in the Three Broomsticks, he was rubbing one of my hands in between both of his, trying to warm up the numb fingers as I sipped my butterbeer.

"it's going to be nice to go home for a bit," Al said, yawning.

"Yeah, not like I can ever get away from you," I complained as Scorpius started to kiss my fingers.

"Gee thanks," Al said. "I love you too, Rosie."

"As you rightly should," I replied, grinning at him.

He rolled his eyes as I turned my gaze on Scorpius. "How cold and stony is your manner house."

He laughed. "Oh Rose. My mother is not exactly a fan of cold and stony. I promise. It's better than even the Slytherin dormitory."

"Well that's not thatbad, so I suppose your fingers won't turn into icicles when you walk in there," I said. "I mean, because I like your fingers."

Eric snorted from the other side of the table, nearly slurping up butterbeer.

"That was not supposed to be an innuendo," I informed him frostily. "Did you ever look at Scorpius's hands? He has nice hands."

"You are… crazy," Albus muttered.

"They're muscular," Eric said. "He works them out a lot.

Scorpius reached over to smack him as I laughed.

"He doesn't need to do that now that he's got me, actually," I said.

"You all are crazy," Albus said. "Why do I associate with you again?"

"You're obligated with me," I said. "I don't know about these two."

-CD-

Scorpius:

Before King's Cross came into view, I took Rose into our private compartment, wrapping my arms around her gently.

"Write me," I told her, kissing her forehead.

"I can do that," she said.

"And don't drink any suspicious drinks, all right?"

"I have been attacked in a while," she pointed out.

"Just the same," he said.

"I think he's planning. His first two attempt failed," she said.

"I don't care. You be careful over the holiday. Happy Christmas if I don't see you before, in Diagon Alley," I said, kissing her forehead again.

"I'll be careful," she promised. "But you have to be careful too."

"I can do that," I assured her.

'And Happy Christmas to you too," she said. "And we'll try to meet at least once in Diagon, all right?"

"Yes, just write me," I said. "I'll recognize your owl."

"And I will recognize yours," she said, laughing.

It was amusing. Rose had a bright white snowy owl named Persephone, and my owl was black as night, named Hades.

I kissed he quickly on the lips. "It's nice to have a holiday. I'll be able practice to beat you at things, Rose."

"I'd like to see you try," she said, rolling her eyes. She leaned up and kissed me on the lips, wrapping her arms around me tightly. She nuzzled into my chest.

"I'm going to miss you," I said. "Never thought I would actually say that, but it's true."

"I'm going to miss you too, Scorpius," I said.

The train stopped on the platform and I kissed her passionately once more on the lips.

The two of us turned toward the racks where our trunks and owls were. Both of us used a quick spell to get them off and out through the door of the compartment. I landed solidly on the ground, looking around for my family. Dad and Mum were leaning by a pillar, not looking in my direction. The massive Weasley clan was gathered elsewhere. I squeezed Rose's hand quickly, subtly.

"See you, Weaslet," I said.

"Good bye ferret," she returned cheerfully, following her trunk and owl over to the massive family waiting for her.

I walked over to my parents, my father with his receding white blonde hair and intense silver stair, strict posture. Then there was Mum, with her wavy dirty blonde hair, the texture of which I inherited, along with Dad's obnoxious color.

"Hi, honey!" Mum said, giving me a tight hug when she saw me.

"HI," I said, kissing her on the cheek. I shook Dad's hand and heaved a sigh.

'How are you?" Mum asked me, holding me at arm's length and examining me up and down. "You look pale."

"Mother, I am related to Dad," I pointed out. Dad laughed at that. "But I am hungry."

"We'll go home then,' she said as I dropped my trunk onto a trolley and we walked toward the barrier. The Weasley clan had reached it before us, and in groups of two or three, they blew through the barrier, disappearing. Rose and her father were last, bringing up the rear, with my family waiting behind them. Ron Weasley turned his head and gave me the greatest death glare I had ever seen. Or maybe it was aimed at my father.

My parents ignored the look, and we followed them through the barrier. Mum forced me to put on my Muggle jacket as if I was an incompetent three-year-old, and we headed outside to apparate home.

We landed on the front porch of Malfoy Manor, previously the home of Lucius and Narcissa, and before them, Abraxus and his wife.

"Dinner should be on the table," Mum said. We had a housekeeper and a cook, and the food made by Mrs. Lane, our cook, easily rivaled that of the Hogwarts elves. I headed right into the dining room, leaving all of my stuff obnoxiously in the middle of the floor. I took my customary seat at the smaller table.

It was odd to think that this was my house. My father had almost not lived here, once he grew up. It reminded him too much of a life he wished he had never lived. But my mother promised him that she would make it into a different place—in truth she just liked the space, the windows, and the amazing grounds. She would make him forget anything that ever happened there.

It was a different table than the one where Voldemort used to hold council. But it was the same room. It didn't feel like it unless I thought about it. In the parlor, my great Aunt tortured Rose's mother.

But I didn't think about it that way. I realized, when I first learned about everything that had happened during the war, that I couldn't let it chase after me forever. I lived in this home. I wouldn't be able to survive the rest of my life if I didn't feel I could even enter my own parlor, or sit in my dining room.

I told myself that this was the place where my father tried to keep from revealing Harry Potter, by saying he didn't know it was him with a busted up face. I told myself that this was where I spent every Christmas, happy with my family, sitting in the sunlight rooms by a Christmas tree, as outside the tall windows, snow floated to the ground.

And it was okay with me. It had to be.

I sighed to myself as my parents sat at either end of the table, which was shrunk to be of good proportions for a meal with three people.

"So how is everything, really, Scorpius?" Mum asked me as Mrs. Lane put the salad in front of us.

"Everything is pretty good," I said. "I'm doing really well in all of my classes, and of course I'm sure Dad told you my team beat Gryffindor at Quidditch."

"Yes he did," she said. "Good job at that, truly."

"It was a game of luck, really," I said. "The Gryffindor chasers are really good, and my team was no match for them in that sense. And it just happened that I was on the side of the stadium where the snitch was, and Albus Potter was on the other side. I think that he probably would've bested me if he hadn't had to fly across the entire pitch."

"You shouldn't think like that, Draco," Dad said.

"Well, Potter is really good. Good like his father, Dad," I said, laughing a little.

"Yes, well, I suppose it runs in their blood. Quidditch, I mean," he said.

"And it doesn't run in my blood?" I questioned.

"I wasn't _actually _that good," Dad said. "My father bought me onto the team in my second year."

"How is Rachel?" Mum wondered, changing the subject.

"Oh," I said. "Well… we're not together anymore. I don't really know if we were ever truly together."

"Oh," she said. "That's too bad. Did anyone else catch your interest, perhaps? Any new girls you want to start seeing?"

"Not really, no," I lied.

She laughed. "I can see that you're lying, Scorpius. Who is she? Is she a Slytherin?"

"No," I said. "And she's not a Hufflepuff either, so you don't have to worry about that."

Dad laughed at that. "Okay."

"Who is she?" Mum wondered.

"it's really none of your business," I informed them.


	21. Chapter 21

**_A/N: I officially cannot stand this site... why? Because it is the biggest distraction ever invented. When there's this site, I actually go "what's facebook?" Thus the fruit of my occupation: _**

Chapter 21:

Rose:

"Quick," Mum said. "Make a list each of five things that are new in your lives!"

I made the list in my head: _One: I'm dating Scorpius Malfoy. Two: I'm fucking Scorpius Malfoy. Regularly. Three: I actually enjoy his presence. Four: I think I may be a sex addict. Five: I'd rather spend Christmas with him than my extended family._

Hugo, thankfully, started first. I was listening to him list about how he was actually good enough at potions now that he might be able to continue at NEWT level, and how he still hated Divination, and he should've listened to Mum and Dad before he signed up for it and other boring factors.

"What about you, Rosie?" Dad asked. "Apart from the obvious."

"The obvious being multiple death attempts?" I offered.

"Yes," Dad said.

"Well…" I said. "I… am… my Quidditch team actually lost a game. Uh…"

"In essence," Hugo said. "Nothing is new in Rose's life that she feels like sharing."

I glared at him.

"Ah," Mum said. "Ah well, I'm sure she'll think of something.'

"Maybe she will," hugo agreed, giving me a pointed look. I waved my wand at my trunk to send it upstairs to my room.

"I hate you," I told him.

"I hate you too," he assured me.

"We're having dinner with your grandparents tonight," Mum told us. "Because they leave for the Cote D'Azur tomorrow and they want to have Christmas with you."

"All right," I said. "I'm going to go upstairs and take a shower."

"All right," Mum said. "Be down in an hour."  
-CD-

The next day, we had our customary pre-Christmas gathering with Uncle Harry, Aunt Ginny, James, Albus and Lily. Not that we didn't see each other all of the time or anything, seeing as most of our lives were spent with the Potter clan. But our Mums liked to make cookies and our dads would reminisce about Christmases past and we'd go out back of the Potter's house and play Quidditch. Poor Hugo, who wasn't good at Quidditch—he got Mum's genes in that—usually was left to his own devices.

Before lunch, we five cousins sat comfortably in the Potter's kitchen, drinking warm hot chocolate after a rousing game of Quidditch with Dad and Uncle Harry. James was rambling on about his American girlfriend, Casey, whom he met on a weekend trip to the Florida Keys. He was currently working for Gringotts at sites like Machu Pichu, along with a bunch of Americans. Apparently Casey was also a cursebreaker, and they had been working mere miles apart from each other. Imagine the coincidences. She was going to be joining all of us for New Year's.

"You're not the only one in a relationship," Lily piped up, grinning brightly.

"Really?" James said. "Wow. Who stepped it up? Al? Hugo?"

"Rosie," Lily said, looking at me cruelly.

"Lily!" I said.

"Oh really?" James said.

"Be quiet about it, right?" Albus said, looking over his shoulder.

"Lily, I'm going to hex you. And you can't defend yourself, because you can't use magic outside of school," I muttered.

"Who is it?" James demanded. "if she doesn't want anyone else to know."

"it's none of your business," I hissed.

"The rest of us know," Lily said. "You might as well tell James."

"No," I said.

'it's Scorpius Malfoy," Hugo said.

I glared at them all.

James laughed loudly. "No it's not."

"Yes it is," Albus said, shrugging.

"Oh Merlin, Rose," James aid. "Do you actually think you're going to make this work? Do you think that this is going to end well?"

"I don't know," I said ."All I know is you can't tell your parents or my parents. End of story."

"I mean… are you crazy, Rose? I don't think he's a bad guy, but it's not going to go over well in the family. At least with your Dad and a few others. I mean… Malfoy's dad isn't that bad now or anything, but old feelings take a long time to die. You know that."

"I do," I said. "Which is why we are not telling anyone."

"Right…" he said. "This isn't going to work. I tell you this as your wise, older cousin, who has vast knowledge of the world and how it works."

I snorted.

"Or at least vast knowledge of our family and how it works," he conceded. "Just end it now, Rose. It'll be a lot easier. It will save us all a lot of trouble."

I nodded. "I wish I could.'

"But she's gotten attached,' Lily said.

"Uh oh," James said. "See, this is why you should never, ever get attached to a Malfoy."

"See, someone should've told me that earlier," I said.

"They did and you were just not listening," Hugo pointed out.

"Hugo, when does Rose ever listen?" Lily wondered.

"When it's herself talking," ALbus offered.

"Gee. Thanks. It's always so nice to know that I am well thought of," I said.

"Oh, you're well thought of," James said. "You just also think well of yourself.'  
They were so annoying. I knew they were teasing for the most part, but it still bothered me. I'd had a hard time when I was younger, mostly because I was always smarter than most of my cousins were when they were my age. It bothered all of them, sometimes. And I did feel bad about it, but at the same time… I couldn't exactly control being smart, and I wasn't about to give it away either, all because they didn't want me to be like that. I hated to think that they thought I was self-involved too. That would really bother me.

"You two are always competing," James said. "How can that be a healthy relationship?'

"I don't know," I said. "We get along, because we've agreed that we will be locked in an eternal battle to best each other, perhaps?"  
"I can almost see that," he said. "Your dad said he looked suspicious in one of your murder attempts…"

"How the hell would Scorpius poison me?' I said. "We don't have easy access to that sort of thing in our school."

"Good point," James said. "I'm just saying, your father thinks that. He's not going to take kindly to this, Rosie. I don't know what you intend to do. But it's impossible to keep secrets in a family this big."

"Oh come on," I said. "You know me, James. You know the secrets I have stashed back here."  
"Yeah, but you're the only one that's good at keeping them, I guess," James said. "You have the amazing brain capacity for it. The rest of us aren't that skilled. We leak secrets like they're oil off a muggle car. We can't help it. Once one of us cousins knows something, the rest pretty much know. Hate to tell you. I doubt it will be long before your parents figure it out."

"Well I'd appreciate it if all of you just keep your massive mouths shut, all right?" I said.

"We can do that," Lily said.

"Well clearly you can't, as you found it necessary to instantly share with Jame.s"  
-CD-

Scorpius:

Rose's snowy owl landed on my window sill Christmas Eve. I stroked her feathers and let her get a drink while she waited for my reply to her letter. I unfolded the letter, looking at my name written on the front in her careful and delicate script.

_Dear Scorpius,_

_Darling Lily told James. I don't know what she was thinking. James has perhaps the biggest mouth of anyone I've ever met. He'll tell his mother for certain, and then it's only a matter of time until my parents know. So the cat is out of the bag, I guess you could say. Damn Lily._

_Anyway, sorry I didn't write sooner. I was a little preoccupied with not strangling my youngest cousin to death. It wasn't easy, I tell you. But I think we're going to have to wait until the 26__th__, 27__th__, or 28__th__ to get together. I know it's not going to happen before that. Because I still have to shop with my mum and all of that, and it wouldn't be easy to get away from her. Besides, I'd like to enjoy my last few days—or maybe it's hours—on her good side._

_I hope your break is pleasant so far. You don't have much family over for Christmas do you? Do you have your Grandparents Greengrass, or your Aunt Daphne over? I'm just wondering. Because I'm having difficulty imaging a Christmas without Uncle Bill, Aunt Fleur, Louis, Dominique, Victoire, Uncle Charlie, Uncle George, Aunt Angelina, Fred, Roxanne, Uncle Percy, Aunt Audrey, Molly, Lucy, Uncle Harry, Aunt Ginny, James, Lily, Albus Grandma, Grandpa, Teddy, Andromeda, Hagrid and… well I think that's it, actually. Sorry, I felt like listing. Just to express the sheer massive size of the Weasley family (that is if we don't have the Scamanders and Longbottoms over on top of that, which is a distinct possibility). I know you're wondering how we actually manage to contain all of that in one county. I'm telling you, it's a feat. _

_Anyway, what's it like to have a small Christmas?. Do you like it? Or would you like to deal with the above. Or something in between. I always wanted something in between. But I love my family. I don't think I'd really have it any other way._

_Let me know which days after Christmas work for you, and I'll try to get away. I hope you enjoy Christmas and eat a lot of good food. Feel free to even get fat. I'll figure out ways to burn calories with you, really._

_From Sincerely,_

_Rose._

I laughed at her letter. Only she would take the entire time to list out every member of her massive family. I couldn't imagine that. My Christmas was usually just my parents and me. I liked it that way. Once or twice we'd had mum's parents over, but they tended to go to Aunt Daphne's house, and Mum didn't care for Aunt Daphne or her family, so we stayed home just the three of us.

I began to pen my reply:

_Rose,_

_I think the twenty-seventh will be best for me. How would you feel about meeting at Flourish and Blotts around noon? I will be the one looking rather Slytherin-ish in a corner. Potentially hexing you. You'll just have to show up to see._

_As for everything with James… well I have a few things to tell you about that. I don't mind that he knows, at least. He's a good guy, actually. I don't know if you ever knew that the two of us were friends last year. Odd as that may sound, we were. Hopefully he'll remember that and take your side when and if things get dicey for you there. I know Albus will help you out, but I'm sure it would be beneficial t ohave more than one person on your side._

_In regards to Christmas, I believe it will be a fairly small affair here at the Malfoy household, as usual. We don't tend to have company—and any potential amount of company for my family is still less than a quarter of everything that happens with your family every year. I can't imagine a Christmas like that. There must be enough food to feed a small army of sorts, I'm certain. _

_It's not bad having a small Christmas, but I wouldn't mind something a little bigger sometimes. I enjoy the intimacy with my parents—we like to catch up. But we don't really associate with my father's remaining family, and my mother does not enjoy the company of her sister, her husband, and my two awful cousins. I would rather have Christmas all by myself, than to spend it with them, actually. They're… not really nice people. Or intelligent, I suppose. And that's what I find most difficult to deal with. _

_Maybe I will get fat if you're up for slimming me down, Weasley. I see nothing wrong with that, actually. Besides, there's always enough food to expand me a couple of pant sizes. We'll just have to see how much I can stomach and what's on the table this year- though I doubt it will be anything bad, based on what my cook is capable of making. Then again, I also doubt there will be as much variety here as there must be at a gathering like theirs._

_I hope you're training for Qudditch, Weasley. I have no intention of letting Ravenclaw walk away with a Victory, so you best be prepared to flatten them and Hufflepuff in order to take a victory in the cup… and let's face it, I won't let that happen. I think that cup really ought to have a Malfoy name on it for once. I hope truly that you agree with me._

_Have fun with all of your multitudes of cousins, and I will see you at Flourish and Blotts if that is convenient for you. I hope also that you are avoiding death attempts thus far this holiday. _

_Happy Christmas._

_Scorpius._

_Next Chapter: "There's this Muggle drug. It's call Coke. They like to grow and sell it in South America a lot. Anyway, you look like you're addicted to it and haven't had any in a really long time." _


	22. Chapter 22

**_A/N: I hope you are still enjoying this! We're almost halfway through... _**

Chapter 22:

Rose:

The problem was that the Burrow was actually too small for all of us. And so, every year, Grandpa Arthur rented a marquee that could be extended from the house, and heated until it was nice and warm, and dotted with comfy furniture, and of course, the massive table that seated at least twenty-five people and one half giant.

The younger chunk of cousins—which truly meant anyone that was still at Hogwarts, minus Lily and Hugo if we could get away from them and usually plus James- was sprawled in a cluster—this time with Lily and Hugo—on a section of squishy furniture in the back, quiet corner of the massive tent. A fair distance away, Teddy and Victoire were holding court with Molly, Roxanne, and Dominique, who had been upgraded from our group last year to her older sister's this year. For us, it was James, me, Al, Hugo, Lily, Lucy, Fred and Louis—whom everyone always sort of forgot about.

"I'm hungry," Lily said for the thousandth time.

"And I'm bored, so suck it up," Fred said.

Albus, next to me, was folding and unfolding his hands repeatedly and making faces to himself.

"Al looks nauseas," James commented, leaning back and putting his hands behind his head.

"I'm fine," Al snapped, pushing his fingers through his hair.

"You know," James said. "There's this Muggle drug, called Coke. They like to grow and sell it in South America a lot. Anyway, you look like you're addicted to it and haven't had any in a really long time."

"Shut up," Al said, giving him a glare. He huffed loudly and stood up from the group.

"Man," James said. "What did I say to upset him? He's been like this all break so far…" He started to get up to follow after him.

"Let me," I suggested.

"Okay," he said, shrugging and sitting back down.

I headed into the house, leaving the slew of them behind. Al was sitting in the drawing room, sprawled on the couch, clearly deep in thought.

"Albus Severus, what's up?" I said, moving to sit by his feet on the couch.

"Nothing," he said. "I just… I feel like I should tell my parents. And James and Lily."

"Oh," I said.

"I just don't see how I should or could keep it from them," he said.

"And you're sure, at this point, that you go in the male direction?" I assumed.

"I'm sure, with Eric," he said. "And I don't have any attraction for women… never have."

"All right," I said. "Then, if you're sure.'  
"But how do I say it?" he demanded. "How's this: Mum, Dad, Merry Christmas. I like Men."

"I don't think that's the best way to go about it," I said.

"Will you come with me when I tell them?" he demanded.

"If you decide to tell them, sure," I said.

"I just need a little backup," he said.

"Of course," I said. "I just want you to be sure that you can and will tell them, Albus. No one says you have to yet, you can wait until after the school year ends."

"I can..." he said. "I just can't wait, Rose. Not forever. I've known for two years at this point. How can I keep this a secret any longer, if I've been waiting to tell people for that long? And you heard what James said the other day. Secrets are impossible in this family for everyone but you."

"I'm the only one that knows though," I said.

"I know," he said. "but eventually people at Hogwarts are going to figure it out. I might as well tell them that before it gets back to them the hard way."

"Okay," I said. "When do you want to tell them?"  
"I suppose when I get home tonight," he said. "You know, give them the worst Christmas present in the entire world."

"Al, they're not going to care that much," I said. "I just want to make sure you're sure."

"I'm sure," he said. "I have to."

"Al, there's nothing that's going to keep your family from loving you, all right?" I said. "it's going to surprise them, I'm sure, but they won't care, in the end. Because you're their son, and nothing actually changes that."  
"How do you tell your parents this?" he said. "Do you just say, Mum, Dad, I like blokes? I mean, it's not that easy, is it?"

"Al, I don't know," I said. "I think you just have to tell them. However it comes out." We were quiet for a moment, and then I added, "No pun intended.'  
He just laughed.

"So I'll just make an excuse to come home with your family tonight," I said. "as long as you want me to." "I do," he assured.

"Sounds like a plan then," I said.

-CD-

Rose:

I went home with the Potters, claiming I was going to borrow one of Al's books for an assignment due after the holidays.

As soon as the six of us arrived at their house, James scurried upstairs to send an owl to his girlfriend Casey (a love note, as Lily put it). Lily headed to her room to shower and work on an essay she had to write It was almost as if they knew we wanted privacy, even though they didn't actually have the slightest clue. Even Lily, who actually _went to school _with Al was completely oblivious to the goings on with her brother and Eric.

"Mum?" Albus said, causing Ginny to poke her head out of the kitchen where she was stowing leftover turkey.

"Yes?" she said, smiling.

"Can I talk to you and Dad for a moment?" he wondered. He clasped his hands behind his back. I realized they were starting to shake.

Ginny's forehead scrunched in concern. "Yes, of course, honey. Harry, come here.'

Uncle Harry appeared down the hallway. "Yes, Gin?"

"Albus wants to talk to us," she said. "Let's go into the sitting room Albus. Is Rose coming too?"

"Yes," Albus said, shooting me a look that said. "She better."

I followed the three Potters into their sitting room, sitting down on the couch next to Albus as he sat on the couch across from his mother and father, who took the love seat. Both of them looked very concerned, which I figured was understandable. As much as the Potter were a pretty ideal family, their teenagers didn't regularly share with their parents every aspect of their lives.

I wondered if they would be completely and utterly in shock, or if they had any inclinations at all to believe that Albus might be interested in guys. I hadn't had any idea, and I was the closest person to him except for maybe his dad… but I couldn't really say for certain if their perceptions were different from mine. I knew they wouldn't care, but they would be surprised.

"What do you want to talk to us about?" Harry wondered.

"Well," Al said. "I have to tell you something."

"What?" Ginny wondered, appearing more concerned by the moments.

"I just thought I would say this, because I can't keep secrets forever, and it is time to share this with you guys at least…" he said.

"Go on, Al," Harry prompted, nodding along.

"I…" Al said. "Well… this isn't easy for me to tell you guys…"

"Just tell us, honey, don't worry," Aunt Ginny said, smiling carefully.

"I'm… well, Mum, Dad… I'm…"

"Spit it out Al," I said.

"I'm gay," he said finally.

Ginny and Harry just stared at him for a moment. I knew that if they weren't a little more mature than I was, they would have started laughing too. Neither of them believed it. I could see in their eyes they were waiting for the punch line, the just kidding. Because honestly, no one ever wished their kids to be gay. That was just the truth. No one wished the sort of hate and judgment on their children.

"And I'm not joking," he added.

They were quiet for a while and then Ginny said, "We sometimes wondered."

He nodded.

"Al…" Harry said. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Albus replied. 'I know I don't seem to fit the stereotype. Most people in this world probably wouldn't think that, to look at me… but it's true. And I'm sorry if this disappoints or upsets you, but I can't change it. I guess it's sort of part of who I am."

Ginny got up and walked over. She put her arms around him, hugging him close for a moment. "It's okay, Albus. Are you okay, honey?"

"I'm fine," he said. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay… with it… I mean… no one… wants… it's not…"

"It's okay," Harry said, getting up and joining their hug.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Aunt Ginny wondered, leaning back to look at him.

"Um…" Albus said. "I don't know what you would call it."

Ginny raised her eyebrows.

"His name is Eric," Albus said, blushing brightly.

I smiled at Al. "Eric's nice. Eric Whitman, if you want to do a background check on him, Uncle Harry."

"He's a Slytherin," Albus grumbled.

"And what have I always said about Slytherins, Albus?" Uncle Harry wondered.

"That they're actually not all that bad," he said. "I guess I agree with that."

"Whitman? Is that Arianna Whitman's son?" Aunt Ginny. "The writer for the _Prophet _with me?"

"Yes," Albus said. "But you can't say anything to her, Mum, Eric hasn't told his parents yet, okay?"

"Okay," she said. "I'll keep my mouth shut. But I just want to say this right now, Albus: thank you for telling us. We would've hated for you to think you couldn't tell us these things. I hope you didn't think we would react poorly."

"I don't know what I expected," Albus admitted.

"Well, just so you know, we love you very much. No matter what," she said. "Always.'

I decided to excuse myself from the sappy Potter moment and headed into the kitchen, glad that Al got that off of his chest. At this point, they just had to conquer the rest of the school. That was going to be… interesting. I wondered if he and Eric would even have the guts to tell the entire school. I supposed if they did, then I would have to start protecting them from the hexes of some of the less admirable, more opinionated obnoxious students that would hex them when their backs were turned. But I would be worth it, just so Albus could have a chance of being happy.

I supposed it was now my turn to come clean to the family about something. It was, of course, a totally different scenario. But it was liable to cause more of an uproar. The concept of a Weasley with a Malfoy would probably give someone an irregular heartbeat. I didn't want to be responsible for it. But I didn't want to keep secret. I wasn't sure how to go about this. The look my father gave the Malfoy's as we waited to reenter the Muggle world from Platform Nine and Three Quarters was enough of an indication about how the family was prone to react. I couldn't do that to them.

But I was too fond of Scorpius not to. I was a habitually selfish person, and thus my happiness did come as a priority to that of my family. Maybe that was accented by the fact that I knew that if they gave Scorpius a chance they would see that there was much more good in him than there was bad. In fact, I didn't think he contained any more evil than anyone else in this world. My family just needed to open their eyes. It would do them all some good.

_Next Chapter: "I thought I might show you my fascination with abusing small animals- very Slytherin of me." _


	23. Chapter 23

**_A/N: As we near the halfway point, we actually also near the point where I've stopped editing, so bear with me if there is a little delay in a few days... _**

Chapter 23

Scorpius:

My Christmas morning began with the rich smells of cinnamon French toast, with real maple syrup and steaming mugs of hazelnut coffee.

I was warm in bed, stirred from a particularly interesting dream involving Rose Weasley and very few clothes. The two sides of me were fighting. One wanted me to stay comfortable and cozy in dreamland. The other side wanted French toast really badly. And presents. Presents honestly couldn't hurt, especially when being the only child of a very wealthy ancient family and all that.

I flung my legs out of bed, found a shirt and some pajama pants for over the boxers, and headed down the stairs. Mum and Dad were sitting in the drawing room, both drinking coffee like the parents I knew and loved—and who had corrupted me and transformed me into a caffeine addict at age ten.

"Happy Christmas, Scorpius!" Mum said eagerly, practically tossing my stocking at me to open before I got to the real presents.

"Happy Christmas," I returned, laughing a little.

I poured myself a cup of coffee before turning to all of my wonderful gifts. My parents truly enjoyed spoiling me. There were mounds of chocolate and candy that I would never successfully eat without getting very ill, and that was just the surface. They fulfilled every one of my Quidditch and school needs, and got me several more Quidditch team shirts, expanding my collection to the teams of mainland Europe, North America, and Australia. I was partial to the Moose Jaw Meteorites of Canada, and the Gorodok Gargoyles of Lithuania. But that was likely just me.

I loved Christmas. It was just the atmosphere. Nothing dampened my family mood on Christmas. We could be a mildly hated, exiled wizarding family, who lived in the Death Eater headquarters from the war, but it didn't matter. No one could stop my mother from making the entire house smell like cinnamon and pine, from decorating a Christmas tree so tall I was always pretty certain she found a very small one and then charmed it until it barely fit in the high ceiling rooms of the house. If anyone looked at us, they would just say we were a normal small wizarding family, just enjoying a small Christmas together in the comfort of our warm and inviting home.

But there were still people out there who couldn't see it that way. They saw the word Malfoy and cringed, scoffed, and glared. They passed by our Manor and occasionally set our hedges on fire—hedges that were were now fire resistant and just turned the flames a nice aqua color—or threw doxy eggs. Never a good thing. But we just ignored them. It was easier that way.

I looked at my family. I didn't think there was anything bad about us. Lord knew, a person only had to meet my mother to know that. But my father's mistakes in the past cast a dark shadow around us, and I knew he regretted everything.

I supposed it was impossible to change the past. I knew that much. He would need a massively powerful time-turner and incredible stealth and skill to execute it. In truth, I don't think he would do much differently either. At the time, he had to protect his mother. There was nothing else he could do. I knew, if faced with the same decisions, I probably would opt to keep my life and my mother's life. For the most part, if you were close enough to the center of the Dark Lord's circle, and he wanted you dead, you were dead. My father didn't have a choice.

I hoped that the Weasley's could see that, when they finally discovered that I was with Rose, if they did. I knew Harry Potter had seen it in my father, but I was never sure about Ron Weasley. I supposed he lost too much in the war, and anyone that was to blame was blamed. But then again, Harry Potter lost a lot in the war too… And he didn't point specific blame on anyone but Voldemort. It was perspective, I supposed. Rose had to get her tenacity from somewhere, and I assumed it came from her father. Her mother always seemed like a very warm and caring person to me, someone that would actually get along very well with my mother. So I just had to hope, I supposed, that old grudges could potentially die, at least a little. And that I wouldn't get my head or other various body parts blown off by Ron Weasley.

For now, we would try to keep things a secret.

-CD-

Scorpius:

I told my mother I would be back before it was too late, and she could find me in Diagon Alley if I was desperately needed. I was, if she wondered, meeting friends there. In truth, I was meeting one friend, who was, I supposed, more than a friend.

As I told her I would, I positioned myself in a back corner of shelves at Flourish and Blotts, immersing myself into a moderately uninteresting reference book on snake charming. It was a dark section, and I hoped she would enjoy my wit in positioning myself in a very Slytherin-like manner.

Also as promised, as soon as she approached, I hexed her, a simple silent Leg-locker that made her fall delicately onto her arse.

"Malfoy!" she hissed, retrieving her wand from inside her robe and undoing the spell. I smirked at her, sticking my book back into its spot on the shelf.

"Good afternoon, Weasley," I said, extending a hand to help her up. She accepted grudgingly, looking slightly rumpled. She smoothed the front of her cloak, shaking out her hair which seemed curlier than usual.

"Hello," she said, linking her arm in mine. "How was your Christmas?"

"Very nice. What about you?" I wondered.

"Very good," she said. "Where do you want to go?"

"Well I do need Owl Treats," I said. "Eeylop's?"

"Sounds good to me," she said. "One can never spoil their owl too much."

"So what do you think the chances of running into one of your many red-headed relatives are?" I wondered as we walked down the cobblestoned street in the late December chill. She leaned into me, wrapping her red scarf more tightly around her neck.

"Little," she said. "They're all lethargic from the massive amounts of food they consumed yesterday."

"Ah," I said. "Good dinner then?"

"Wonderful," she said. "I say this every year, but I don't think I've ever eaten so much."

I laughed. "I got more Quidditch t-shirts for you to steal."

"Oh goody!" she said. "I'm excited. I need to expand my collection."

I rolled my eyes and walked into Eeylops, breaking free of her just in time for the door to slam in her face. She glared at me and pushed her way in after me, stalking past me over to a shelf. I chuckled to myself and looked at the different owls. Some were very small, dwarves, and then there were massive barn owls, Great Horned Owls, and other big species.

A little owl was wheezing and coughing like a withered old man. It was a little black fluff ball, spluttering unattractively. He seemed to have a similar problem to Hades—choking on his own owl pellets. I picked my wand up and pointed it directly at the owl.

"What are you doing?" Rose demanded, grabbing my arm.

"I thought I might show you my fascination with abusing small animals- very Slytherin of me, you know," I said scathingly.

"No really, what are you doing?" she demanded.

"it's choking," I said. "Or something of the sort.'

"How about you leave it to the professionals?" she suggested.

"Or I could just do this," I said, waving my wand. The owl spit its pellet out quickly and started to twitter happily. Rose glared, put out.

"I know what I'm doing,' I assured her. "My own owl has a bit of a problem."

"he's very cute," she said, ignoring me and reaching out to stroke the top of the little owl's head. I watched as the little owl twittered up her arm and perched contently, sort of like an over-stuffed and mildly annoying Pygmy Puff.

"I don't think Persephone would take it very well if you brought home a new friend," I pointed out.

"But look at him," she said, reaching onto her shoulder to pick the tiny owl up in one hand and hold him—it?—out on her fingers like a platform. He climbed up her arm again and she laughed as he approached her face, big green-blue eyes meeting massive yellow ones. It was some sort of mutated pygmy owl, I was certain. A smaller, more puffy and obnoxious version of the Scops owl, perhaps. But she liked it, for some reason.

"Do you want a Christmas present?" I wondered, knowing I would rue this decision. "I have something else for you, but I can get you this too."

"Don't you want him?" she asked, laughing a little.

"Hades would eat him for lunch," I said dryly, picking him up out of her hand and walking toward the counter.

"You don't have to!" she insisted as I grabbed a small black cage from the shelf and walking toward the counter.

"You like him for some obscene reason," he said.

"He's cute," she said.

"You're very happy today," I commented, leaning over at the counter. "Yes, I would like to purchase this… owl."

The shopkeeper raised his eyebrows.

"For my girlfriend," I pointed out. "But we're going to shop for a little while longer, so can I just ;pay for it and leave her… it… him… here for a while?"

"It's a him," the worker said, laughing a little. "And of course you can."

"All right then," I said, sliding over the right cash as Rose looked on from afar.

"My mother's going to kill me,' she announced. "Oh well."

"Rose I have officially bought you a pompom," I said. "We'll come back for him later."

"All right," she said, laughing a little and hooking her hand in mine as I got my change back.

"Thank you for the owl," she said, reaching up to kiss me on the cheek.

"You're lucky that after I tripped you in the bookstore I decided to be nice to you,' I informed her, putting an arm around her waist.

"Oh, lucky," she said. "I see. Yes I'm lucky that you tripped me."  
"Yes, I think that's it exactly," he said, chuckling.

"You said you had something else for me?" she said eagerly.

"Well, you know, I did just buy you an owl, Weasley. What do you have for me?" I wondered.

"I left it with Aria at the Leaky Cauldron. Friend of the family," she explained.

"Is there anyone in this world that isn't a friend of your family?" I demanded exasperatedly.

"Yes," she said. "Yes, yes. Your father."

"That is a low blow Weaslet," I said. I would've pinched her evilly if she wasn't layered up with a thick cloak and what felt like a thick, traditionally hideous and lumpy Weasley sweater.

"I know," she said, laughing brightly as we continued down the street, heading up toward Gringotts with no actual destination in mind.

_Next Chapter: "I told you she wasn't in Hufflepuff, Mum." _


	24. Chapter 24

**_A/N: I have nothing to say. But I'll write that in another author's note I don't really expect people to read. :]_**

Chapter 24.

Rose:

We walked into the Leaky Cauldron after my hands started to get really cold. I went to get his present from behind the bar—more to add to his collection of shirts for me to steal, of course. What else? The first was a Sumbawanga Sunrays shirt, from Tanzania, and then the Karasjok Kites, from Luxembourg, which was my personal favorite shirt. I tried to get him obscure ones.

He laughed when he opened them, guessing my ulterior motive instantly.

"Did you buy them in your sleeping shirt size, or are we going to have to enlarge these too?" he asked in our secluded corner of the pub, drinking butterbeer.

"We'll have to enlarge them, I suppose," I said, laughing. "I thought I wouldn't be too obvious."

"All right," he said, squeezing my hand. "Well thank you, I really do like them. I'm going to need more space in the dorm room, just to house all of my Quidditch team shirts at this point. It's a little sad."

"Everyone has to collect something," I said.

"What do you collect?" he wondered.

"Secrets," I said. "And owls, apparently."

"Secrets?" I repeated. "Interesting."

"Now my turn!" I insisted.

"All right, all right," he said. "As if you weren't exceedingly spoiled already…"

He reached into his cloak pocket and pulled out a box. Sliding it across the table, I laughed to find it covered in glossy black paper, tied with a mass of green and silver ribbon.

"Trying to convert me, are you?" I said.

"Perhaps," he said, shrugging.

"Did you wrap it yourself?" she wondered.

"With magic," he said.

"Close enough," I said. "You do it pretty well. Not as well as I do, of course, but still surprising."

He rolled his eyes. "Just open it, Weasley."

I laughed and slid the ribbon off the package, sliding a finger under the paper to pop it open. I slid out the small black box and lifted the lid. Lying across the velvet on the inside of the box was a thin silvery chain—so bright that it almost looked white, even in the dim lighting of the Leaky Cauldron. Hanging at the very bottom of the chain were two charms, both small. One was a shining silvery Quaffle, and the other a streamlined broomstick.

"It's so beautiful!" I said, picking it up and hooking it around my neck. It fell gently on top of my sweater, which my Nana knit for me. This year it had a Quaffle on the front of it. "Thank you, Scorpius."

"You're welcome," he said, chuckling a little at my excitement.

I bounced up and walked over to kiss him, wrapping my arms around him. He pulled me onto his lap, and hugging me for a moment began to kiss me. We sort of got into it then, concealed in our shadowy corner by the pipe smoke of the other people in the pub.

"You're beautiful," he told me, making my heart flutter a little. He continued to kiss me for a moment.

"Um... hello... Scorpius... what are you doing?" Startled, he pulled away from me quickly, jumping back. Together, red faced, we met the eyes of his mother.

"Mum!" he said loudly. "What are you doing here?"

"Well I realized before you left that I didn't tell you to get parchment because they're having a sale, and I just decided to come and see what other after Christmas discounts there were," Astoria Malfoy said hastily, wringing her hands. "And then I ran into you here… and I was told by the barmaid that if I was looking for you, you would be over here…"

"Mum…" he said. "Oh Merlin… Mum, this is Rose… I don't know if you know her… er… yeah."

"Rose?" she said. "Oh my… Rose Weasley?"

"Yes, Mum,' he said.

"It's nice to meet you," I said gently, holding out my hand.

"Yes…" she said. "I'm Scorpius's mother, Astoria Malfoy… Oh my…"

"I told you she wasn't in Hufflepuff, Mum," Scorpius pointed out hesitantly, as if he was very proud of himself for remembering that.

"I'll bet not," Astoria mused. "You mean to tell me, Scorpius, that you are dating the girl you would go on hour long rants about during your holidays for the past seven years?"

"Yes," Scorpius said.

"It's okay, Mrs. Malfoy," I said. "I have always done the same thing about him."

She shook her head. "My, my. I suppose competition is attractive."

Scorpius shook his head, mirroring her exact action from seconds earlier.

"Why didn't you tell me who your girlfriend was, Scorpius?" she wondered, looking between the two of us carefully.

"I dunno," he said. "I just didn't. We were sort of keeping it a within Hogwarts secret…"

"But why?" she said. "Why not tell your own parents? It's not as if we would care."

I realized that this conversation was taking a nose-dive rapid plummet toward awkward. This was going to come around shortly to why I wanted to keep things hushed—my grudge-holding scar-bearing, wizarding world- saving parents. How did you tell your boyfriend's mother that the reason you didn't tell anyone you were dating her son was because your parents hated her husband and his entire family? It just wasn't socially acceptable. Or frequently done. I could feel my cheeks gaining a characteristic Weasley blush.

"It's just easier," Scorpius said, trying to keep the awkward from invading the conversation. He glanced at me and I made a concerned face, not sure how to go about this either.

Astoria caught my eye and then she smiled gently. "I understand, Rose. Your parents still don't forgive my husband for what he did during the war. And I understand it very well, and I will not hold it against them."

I cringed at that. In essence, it almost made me feel like she was a better person than my parents. She was willing to accept her own flaws, and they weren't even willing to accept the flaws of others.

I understood her. You knew you truly loved someone when you were asked if you loved them in spite of their flaws, and replied with the words "what flaws?" Even the most flawed person is perfect in the eyes of the person who loves them. It was just a matter of fact. People loved in spite of flaws, because of flaws. I knew that Draco Malfoy would probably not be the same person, the person that Astoria fell in love with, had he not been born into a world that he didn't have control of.

And I understood that. And if someone as sweet as Astoria could love a Death Eater, then why couldn't my parents forgive him for things that happened some twenty-six years ago?

"I'm sorry," I said.

"Really, dear," she said. "It's okay. I know how it is."

' I frowned, shaking my head. "I'm sorry."

Scorpius put his arms around my waist. "She said it's okay, Rose."

"But it's not," I said.

"Rose your family lost a lot during that war… I can't… we can't expect anything from them in that sense," he said.

I shook my head, and he pulled me gently against him.

"I should probably tell them," I said.

"You don't have to," he said as his mother hovered by us, almost awkward.

"But…" I said, conflicted.

"How about you come to dinner at our house tonight?" Astoria suggested all of a sudden. Scorpius's eyebrows shot up. He was just as surprised as I was at the invitation.

"I'll have to take my things home, and then… why not?" I said.

"Okay," Astoria said. "It's a plan then. I will see you around six thirty Rose. For now, I'm going to do some shopping. Bye, you two."

Scorpius turned my head to look me in the eye when she was gone.

"You don't have to do this, you know," he pointed out.

"I don't see what the problem is," I said. "I think it's a good idea."

"Rose… my house is not exactly a place full of butterflies and happy memories," he said.

"I realize this," I said. "But I think it's a good idea.'

"Suit yourself," he said. "You don't even have to stay for dinner, Rose. You can just duck in, say hello, and leave. I promise they won't take offense."

"Scorpius," I said, putting a hand over his mouth. "I think it's a good idea."

"All right," he said. "All right. Fine."

"Now how about you shut up, okay?" I suggested.

"Okay," he said, laughing.

"And kiss me," I said, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"I think I can do that," he said, shrugging and pressing his lips against mine.

So I would just tell my parents I was going to Jessie's house for dinner. It was that easy. I could do that. They would believe me. As far as they knew I was an innocent and well-behaved girl. No matter how mistaken they were, perhaps, they still trusted me to all ends. So they would have no problem with me going to Jessie's house for dinner.

I just was a little worried—though I would never tell Scorpius that. Truth be told, Draco Malfoy sort of intimidated me. I never had met him, and that sort of worried me. I didn't know how this whole thing was going to work, mostly because our parents just didn't ever get along. Perhaps he could like me a little. But I knew he might be a tad surprised to see me with his son.

But it wasn't as if I was going to change that at this point. Scorpius was too good a shag/person for that. I wouldn't be able to just walk away at this point.

"Really," he said gently against my jaw. "You don't have to come to dinner. It's nothing special, no binding contract… you can have a major family commitment of sorts…"

"Oh," I said. "Shut up. Shut up, Shut up!"

He laughed again, kissing me.

"You're so annoying," I complained, running my fingers through his hair.

"Rose, Rose, Rose, you know my life's work is to annoy you to your death," he said.

"Not if I beat you to it," I informed him, shaking my head and kissing his lips again. He pressed me closer to him with his hands on the small of my back, bending me inwards.

_Next Chapter: "You shouldn't count your dragons before they hatch," she pointed out to both of us."_

_"I know," Rose said. "But I can count the eggs and estimate." _


	25. Chapter 25

**_A/N: I want to apologize in advance for the worst lemon chapter I've written to date. The rest of the chapter is up to usual standards, but that part is just... not. Not at all. So I'm sorry. Enjoy anyway!_**

* * *

Chapter 25:

Scorpius:

I waited patiently at the gate outside of my house, knowing that due to security measures, she wouldn't be able to apparate to the front step. At exactly six twenty-eight, there was a crack in the air, and she appeared next to me, hair whipping in the wind.

"I must say," she said gently, looking up at the pointed wrought iron and the Gothic architecture of the house itself. "It's about as austere as I imagined it would be."

I laughed and took her hand, waving my wand to get us through the gate. We walked up the cold drive, in the direction of the side door of the house.

"Did they ask you a lot of questions about where you were going?" I wondered.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "Mostly just when I intended to be home. I told them I wasn't sure. I looked at the Muggle forecast. Perhaps I'll be snowed in."

"We could arrange that," I said, swinging our hands between us. I wondered what her parents would think if they knew she was having dinner at Malfoy Manor. I doubted it would be a pleasant reaction. But we could pretend.

I opened the front door for Rose, and as soon as she was inside, our housekeeper, Miss Daye took her cloak and disappeared. Rose had changed out of the lumpy sweater from before, into a sleek red sweater, but the same sheath jeans. She fluffed her hair out around her.

"My parents are in the parlor," I informed her, taking her hand and leading her in the direction of the room. When we walked through the high door—I could see her looking up and around everywhere she was, just taking in the massive heights of the house itself—my father stood up from the couch, like a proper gentleman.

"Hello," he said. "Draco Malfoy, I know we've met."

"Yes," Rose said, extending her hand delicately to shake his once. "And I'm Rose Weasley."

"Of course," he said, smiling. I met my father's eyes and nodded. He was being… well not too creepy. He could very easily be creepy and prestigious in a very unnerving way sometimes.

"Have a seat," I said to Rose, gesturing to one of the empty places. She took the one on the love seat, and I settled next to her, sliding my hand into hers.

"How have you been, Rose?" Dad asked her. "Have there been any more attempts on your life?"

"No," she said. "Thankfully."

"That is a good thing," he said. "And I'm sure you are whipping your Quidditch team into shape."

I laughed at that and Rose glared at me, saying. "Of course I am. I refuse to allow your son to make it to the finals. So my team intends to sweep through the next two matches by gathering scoring points and keeping the other teams from doing just that."

"I think you have your work cut out for you Scorpius," Dad said, laughing at Rose's determination.

"I know I do," I said. "My team is abysmal compared to hers. Just because I got a lucky catch once does not mean it's going to happen again."

"You shouldn't count your dragons before they hatch," Mum pointed out to both of us.

"I know," Rose said. "But I can count the eggs and estimate."

I laughed at that, just as Mrs. Daye poked her head into the room to alert us to dinner being ready.

"Let's go in," I said, taking Rose's hand and pulling her into the dining room. I pulled out her chair, which was across from mine at the table, and then went around the other side to take my own seat, back to the massive fireplace. I winked at her as my parents sat on the other sides of the rectangle.

"What are you plans for after Hogwarts?" Mum asked her, smiling brightly. She was clearly enjoying this, mostly because I never had girls over and of course she had to take this opportune moment to interrogate the first unwitting victim to step into our halls.

"I'm fairly certain I would like to be an auror," Rose said.

"Like me," I pointed out.

Mum laughed. "Fairly certain?"

"Well if the opportunity arose to play Quidditch, I think things would change for a little while. Or at least become open to discussion," Rose said. "Professor McGonagall blanched when I told her that. She thinks it would be a waste."

"From what I gather from your teachers and from Scorpius, it would be a great waste of an intelligent mind," Draco said. "But not, perhaps, of a phenomenal Quidditch talent."

Rose blushed. "Thank you."

"I saw your team play that game," he said. "From the moment the game started, I thought you had Scorpius's team easily beat."

"Dad!" I said.

"I didn't say I wasn't supporting you," Dad contradicted. "Just that I didn't think you were going to win."

"You have no idea the overwhelmingly warm feeling the confidence you have in me gives to my heart," I said scathingly. Both Mum and Dad, and even Rose, laughed at that. But my eyes caught onto Rose. Her hair fell over her shoulders, silky and the sweater she was wearing took her shape beautifully.

We ate in silence punctuated by the occasional conversation. But apparently the food was just too good for conversation. I was afraid, before Rose got here, that we would lapse into awkward conversation during dinner. But apparently I had been worried over nothing.

Then suddenly I felt her foot sliding up my leg. I looked across the table at her sharply, watching her. She was still carrying on gentle, casual conversation not looking at me. I couldn't help but have my eyes bug out of my head as she moved her foot up my thigh, nearing a region I desperately hoped she wouldn't go near—not while I was having dinner with my _parents _at least.

I clenched my fork, and she saw that out of her peripherals. An evil grin crept across her face. She was pure evil. There was officially no doubt of it in my mind.

I shot her a look harsh, to the side of her head. She just moved her foot further into dangerous territory. I tried to keep all of the blood in my body from settling south. It wasn't working. Not even images of slaughtered children and kittens with broken necks were of help for this stressful situation. Not even the thought of my parents being well aware of my sexual activity was enough to stop this. I had no idea what Weaslet was playing at, but it wasn't a good idea. My parents weren't about to just let us go shag upstairs. In fact, I wasn't sure I would be comfortable with that anyway. Shagging with my parents a floor below was not on my top twenty list of things I wanted to do in my life. I preferred to do it in the comfort of my Hogwarts dorm, far, far away from my parents.

As Rose began to cause more problems than she was worth, I finished my meal and looked around at the table. I was sure that my parents—or at least my father—were already aware of the fact that I was far from a virgin at this point in my life. But that didn't mean they expected this.

"Mum, Dad, when Rose is finished, I'd like to show her something upstairs," I said, clearing my throat.

Rose grinned wickedly to the last few pieces of lamb on her plate. My mother raised an eyebrow and my father practically laughed at his plate. He knew what that meant, and he wasn't putting a stop to it.

"I'm finished," Rose said.

"Excuse us," I said, sliding my chair back. She put her napkin on the table and slid back too.

"Dinner was lovely," she said. "I imagine we will be back shortly."

Mum smiled brightly and Dad actually let out a snicker. I was careful to keep myself at a precise angle, avoiding letting either of my parents see the obvious bulge in my jeans.

I led the way upstairs with Rose trailing quickly after me, a grin still on her face.

"What are you doing?" I demanded as soon as we hit the second floor.

"I don 't know," she said. "Enjoying myself"

"Do you have any idea how incredibly awkward this is?"I growled, grabbing her wrist and yanking her down the hall after me. I pulled her into my bedroom and shut the door loudly behind us.

"Is this your _room?" _she said, looking around her rapidly. It was bigger, easily, than the room I shared with three others at school, with a massive bed. It was decorated green and silver, or at least, that had been the starting theme. Over the years I started to suck up some of the Slytherin pride with different Quidditch posters, hanging penants, and similar decorations to those in the dormitory at Hogwarts.

"Yes," I said to Rose, not really giving her adequate time to respond to that. Instead, I pulled her quickly close to me, and started to kiss her contently, intensely. I pressed her against the door my hands in her hair.

"Happy Christmas," she said, laughing lightly as I kissed her neck. I snorted indelicately and slid my hands up under her shirt, sliding my hands over her tight bare stomach. She kissed me carefully on the side of my neck as I moved my lips to her ear, licking the earlobe and nibbling on it. She shivered as I did that, and I knew I had rediscovered a weakness of hers. For some reason if I sucked on her earlobes, or on her fingers, she started to shiver.

-CD-

Rose:

I hopped up, wrapping my legs around his waist. He waved his wand, and the door locked and sealed. He carried me to the bed, dropping me on it and pulling up at my sweater until I lifted my arms over my head to allow him to pull it off. I started in on his button down, carefully undoing every button as he started to kiss my breasts around my red bra. I combed my fingers through his amazing hair. He kissed down my stomach, around my belly button, sliding his hands around on my bare skin. His touch, today, was electrifying, raising goosebumps and tingles wherever the very tips of his fingers drifted.

I was, somehow, naked quickly, and he wasn't. He was above me, jeans on below his perfectly chiseled abs and chest. He kissed down over my hips, sliding his hand up in between my legs. Before I realized what was happening, his hands were clamped firmly on my hips, holding me still, and he had dipped his head between my legs. He kept me from arching my hips as soon as he kissed me down there. I wrapped my fingers into his hair, probably pulling too tight for comfort.

"Oh god,' I moaned, while he pleasured me. "Scorpius!"

He continued to kiss me, not saying anything as I moaned his name.

"Did you like that?" he asked, lifting his head as I hovered on the brink of orgasm.

'Yes,' I said , breathless, as he slid up to hold himself over me. He sucked on the bones of my shoulder while he slid out of his jeans. I kissed his chest carefully, licking the salt off of his skin.

He pushed my legs apart, moving gently inside of me. He made a very animalistic sound and I groaned again, just content, happy. He started slowly, as usual, being gentle and careful. It always made me go crazy when he moved slowly. I gasped in pleasure as we moved together; I made an unintended high noise in the back of my throat every time he pushed farther in. He sucked hard on my neck and collarbone. Both of us had long forgot that his parents were down stairs.

He continued slowly, the two of us moving together. I couldn't hold my hips still this time. Instead, I bucked them up trying to get closer to him, if I could possibly. I clutched at his back, moaning desperately as he kissed my breasts and kept his weight off of me.

We came at the same time, after the most gentle sex the two of us had ever had together. He was good. I knew that. I had never not had an orgasm with him. He seemed to know exactly what to do, exactly how to make me feel good, and I reciprocated. We were starting to know each other.

He collapsed on top of me, still careful not to put his weight on me completely. Breathing heavily, he pulled away from me, sliding onto his side. I looked at him as he looked at me, leaning on one elbow. I reached out gently and stroked his hair, running my fingers carefully through it. He closed his eyes under my touch as I stroked his cheek with my fingertips. He caught one of my hands in his and started to kiss my fingertips, reaching out to pull me close to him. He pressed his lips into my collarbone, putting his hand on the small of my back to draw me close to him.

He ran his hand gently down my leg.

"We should probably get cleaned up and go downstairs," I said. "They'll start to wonder where we are."

"My dad, I think, knows where we are," he said. "But we can let them wonder." He kissed down my front and kissing my breasts gently.

"Okay," I said, bringing his head close to me and just holding it in my arms.

_Next Chapter: "Once a Death Eater, always a Death Eater, Rose." _


	26. Chapter 26

**_A/N: I'm sorry! This is a day late... I couldn't get the document manager to work for me yesterday (I tried a good dozen times. On two different computers). So sorry. i will update tomorrow too. _**

Chapter 26:

Rose:

I landed precisely in the middle of my living room when I returned home. I was good with that. My aim was getting better every single time I tried this. The living room was empty, but as soon as I took one step toward the kitchen, my mother darted out of it, stopping in front of me, looking up at me with a terrifyingly angry expression.

"Hello Mum," I said cautiously, reaching up to pull my cloak off.

"Where were you?" she demanded.

"With Jess," I said. "Didn't I tell you before I left?"

"Yes, you did," she said. "and when I poked my head into the Wood's fire to see if you knew what to do when your stupid owl started to choke, you weren't there. In fact, Avery told me that you two hadn't made plans for all of break."

Dad appeared in the doorway too, a little less peeved, it would appear, but taking Mum's side just the same.

"Oh," I said.

"You lied to us Rose," she said. I believed the look on my dad's face said "All children lie." I wished he would speak his mind.

"I'm sorry?" I offered, even though I really wasn't.

"You're disappointing," she said. "What sort of Head Girl do you think you are? If you can't even be truthful to your parents, how can you be a role model to your fellow students?"

"Mother," I said. "Please, stop. You have no idea what type of person I am."

"Clearly not," she said. "Because I never thought you would lie to me."

"Well I had to," I said.

"Why on earth would you have to lie to me?" she demanded.

"Because you wouldn't let me go where I went," I snapped.

"Probably with good reason," she said. "Where were you?"

"What does it matter?"

"If you don't tell me, don't expect to leave the house for the rest of the break. Even for the Potter's New Year's party."

"No thanks," I said. "I'd rather not go to that than tell you."

"Rose!" she said, grabbing my wrist as I turned to go up the stairs. "_What _were you doing?"

"Having dinner," I replied, yanking my wrist out of her grip."

"Where?" she demanded. "With whom?"

"I'm _not _going to tell you," I said.

"Rose Nympahdora!" she said. "What_… _is _wrong _with you?"

"I just can't tell you!" I said.

'Why not?" Dad wondered.

"Because you don't want to hear it," I replied gently.

The two of them exchanged a look. Dad looked at me with a soft gaze. "Rose, just sit down and talk to us, all right?"

I sighed and sat down on the couch. I couldn't yell at Dad. He was too nice. Mum was the tyrant in the family.

"Just tell us where you were," Dad said, sitting on the couch next to me.

Yeah never thought I would have to have this conversation.

"I was… having dinner," I said. "At a friend's house. And then I hung out with him and his family."

"Him?" Mum echoed. "A boy?"

"Is this a boyfriend, Rose?" Dad wondered.

"Yes," I said.

"And why would we not approve of where you were?" Mum questioned.

"You wouldn't approve of _him," _I said.

"Oh," Mum said.

"Just tell us Rose," Dad said. "How do you know we wouldn't approve of him?"

"I just have a pretty good idea," I explained.

"But his family approves of you?" Dad said.

"Why wouldn't they?" Mum demanded.

"You'd be surprised," I muttered. "But they do, yes."

"Who is it, Rose? What's the boy's name?" Dad wondered. "Do we know his family?"

"Yes we do," I said. "it's Scorpius Malfoy."

They both stared at me and Dad started laughing. He actually was laughing at me. He thought I was joking.

"I'm not kidding," I said.

He frowned, shutting up quickly.

"Rose…" Mum said.

"I know," I said.

"Rose…" Dad said.

"I know, Dad," I said. "See, I told you that you wouldn't approve."

"How long have you been seeing him?" Mum demanded.

"Since October," I said.

"And you didn't tell us?" she said.

"Because I know you don't approve of him," I said.

"We just don't trust his family," Mum said.

"Once a Death Eater always a Death Eater, Rose," Dad said.

"Do you really believe that?" I said. "Mr. Malfoy is not that bad—"

"Not that bad?" Dad said, his volume raising. "So you weren't there when he stood by while his family members tortured and murdered his schoolmates—when he stood by and watched as his sadistic aunt tortured your own mother, Rose! How can you even trust them? How could you willingly go into Malfoy Manor? Do you know how many people died there—"

"Scorpius would never—"

"Rose every sign points to him when indicating who might have tried to hurt you!" Dad shouted.

"He didn't do it!" I shouted back.

"I don't want you seeing him!" he yelled.

"You don't even _know _him!" I said. "You don't even know his family anymore. His mother…"

"If they are anything like Draco Malfoy, I don't want to know them," he said frostily. "If I hear about you seeing him Rose, expect me to do something about it."

I glared at them both and walked up the stairs to my room, angry. As soon as I slammed the door behind them, I apparated again, landing quickly on the doorstep of the Potter's house.

Aunt Ginny opened the door when I knocked , surprised to see me.

"Hi, Rose," she said, looking over her shoulder at the clock hanging on the wall. "It's late. What are you doing here?"

"I got into a fight with my parents and thought it was best if I left the house to cool off," I said, my hands shaking, clenched into fists at my side.

"Come in," she said, looking at my face. I sensed that she could see the tears that were starting to pool in the corners of my eyes. She led me into the kitchen, no questions asked, and started to make a pot of tea.

"What happened, Rose?" she wondered after a moment. The two of us sat in front of their warm kitchen fire. As soon as she sat down, a cat jumped up into her lap, setting contently there.

"I got into a fight with them about my boyfriend," I said. "They don't like him."

"Oh," she said knowingly. "It's hard when family doesn't approve of your boyfriend. My brothers didn't like my first boyfriend—mostly because he was on an opposing Quidditch team, actually. Why don't your parents like your boyfriend? They're usually pretty good judges of character."

"They don't like his family," I said. "They actual forbid me from seeing him. They don't even _know _him."

"That isn't like Hermione," Ginny said thoughtfully. "it's very Ron, to make preemptive judgments, but not your mother."

I sighed, looking into the fireplace.

"Do you mind if I ask who the boyfriend is?" Aunt Ginny prompted scratching the cat behind the ears.

"Oh," I said. "I suppose… It's Scorpius Malfoy."

"Oh…" she said slowly.

"Hey, Rose!" Uncle Harry said, coming into the kitchen. 'I thought I heard you… What are you doing here?" He glanced at the clock. "At eleven thirty at night?"

"I got into a fight with my parents," I explained.

"Because she's dating Scorpius Malfoy," Ginny elaborated.

"Scorpius Malfoy, huh?" Harry said, sitting down at the table too. "I can see how that would bother them, though."

"I get it," I said. "I know why they're bothered. But they didn't even give him a chance."

"Your father has never been able to forgive Draco. I imagine he doesn't extend any warmth to his son," Harry said thoughtfully. "How do you propose to fix this, Rose?"

"I don't know," I said. "I've never actually gone against my family's wishes before. My dad forbid me to see him. I don't think I can do that."

"Do you love him?" Aunt Ginny wondered.

"I don't think I actually know what love is," I said. "Or what to look for."

"Not yet at least," Ginny said. "Do you think you _could _love him?"

"I don't know," I said. "I've spent a lot of my life hating him, arguing with him."

"Do you know what your parents did for a good chunk of their lives?" Harry wondered.

"No," I said.

"They argued with each other," Ginny said.

"Incessantly," Harry said. "And I was the middleman."

"I greatly apologize," I said.

"But the point is," Harry said, smiling. "Argument for them was love. Or something like it, I suppose."

"But it's not going to work if they hate him," I said. "As much as I don't think I can stop seeing him at this point, I could never… I don't know… marry him… if my parents hated him."

"If your parents thought you were serious enough about him to marry him, then I think they would give him a chance," Ginny said.

"Yes," I said. "Hopefully… but we're many years before the thoughts of marriage should even enter my head. So what do I do to get them… I don't know… not disown me."

"They wouldn't disown you for liking a Malfoy," Ginny said.

"Oh yeah?" I said. "I think they might."

"They're just going to do everything in their power to keep you from seeing him," Ginny said. "And I'm not exactly how far they're both willing to go."

"Could I possibly stay here tonight?" I wondered. "I don't think I could go back without getting into a row with both of them all over again."

"Certainly," Harry said. "I'll go tell them that you're going to stay here."

"They'll try to get you to send me home," I pointed out.

"Yeah, I know," he said.

Ginny disturbed the cat to pour us both a cup of tea. "Sometimes parents are so difficult. See I was lucky. They never met my boyfriends until your uncle. And they loved Harry, so that made life pretty easy. They just about sent out the wedding invitations the day after Fred's funeral, when Harry and I were back together."

"I wish I had it that easy," I grumbled.

"I don't' know. It was sort of strange. He'd known me since we were little—since I put my elbow in the butter dish and choked on oatmeal when he talked to me. I was a little obsessive as a kid," she said. "At least you never had that with Scorpius."

"No we were rivals from the beginning. We still are, actually," I said.

"I'm sure you are," she said. "There's nothing wrong with a little healthy competition."

"I suppose not," I agreed, laughing.

"Is he a nice guy, Rose?" she wondered.

"Yes," I said. 'he treats me right, he's actually pretty sweet, if he wants to be, and he's fun to be around. "

"Then I personally don't see a problem," she said. "I just doubt your families will ever be best friends."

"But they could at least… tolerate each other," I said hopefully.

"We can hope," she said, smiling. "You can sleep in the guest room, all right?"

"Yeah, that sounds good," I said. "I think I might head up and say hi to Al and Lily."

"Okay," she said. "I'll help your uncle deal with my brother."

"thanks," I said. "Thank you so much, Aunt Ginny."

"See this is what being the cool aunt is for," she said.

"Yes, you definitely are the cool aunt," I agreed, giving her a hug and then starting upstairs.

I sort of just burst into Al's room when I got there. I definitely _should _have knocked. He and Eric were sitting on his bed, in full lip-lock, both shirtless. It was an odd sight: two extremely well-toned, well-muscled (seemingly straight), one with a tattoo on his arm (Eric) and one with his boxers showing above his jeans (Albus), and both straight upon first sight, making out.

"Um, hello…" I said.

Albus jumped.

"How did you get in here…?" he demanded. "Oh, it's you, Rose. Hi. What are you doing here? And how did you get in?"

"What would've kept me from getting in?" I wondered.

"I'm really bad at sealing charms," Al explained to Eric, who was blushing, but laughing at the same time.

I closed the door behind me, inside the room. "Do your parents know you have a friend over, Al?"

"Ha, ha, no," Albus said. "He flew here. He lives just a couple of neighborhoods over, actually."  
"You flew in this weather?" I said. "Merlin. Good thing you're warming him up, Al."

"Is it your life's goal to make everyone sincerely uncomfortable?" Albus asked me.

"So Scorp's parents and my parents know about the two of us," I explained. "So I came here because I have been shunned in my family."

He shook his head. "I'm sure that was a fun conversation."

'Oh yes," I said. "Joyful."

He laughed a little.

"So are you two having a sleepover?" I wondered. "Should I leave?"

"No, you can hang out," Eric said quickly, causing Albus to laugh again. "As long as the sight of us shirtless doesn't bother you."

"Oh yes, I'm greatly bothered. What's the tattoo of Whitman?" I wondered, walking over and relaxing comfortably on Albus's bed.

"It's an ancient Celtic symbol," he replied. "It's the Adder. It's a symbol for memory, wisdom and curiosity, but it's also in my family crest. Has to do with the Slytherin thing going back centuries, through the male line only. Every male in this line has been in Slytherin, every female in another house."

"That's interesting,' I said. "It really is."

"Rose is trying to make life awkward," Albus explained.

"It's my job," I said, reaching out and grabbing a book off of his nightstand. "Please continue as if I'm not here."

Albus just shot me a look.

"All right, fine," I said. "I'm leaving. Continue your… fun."

I didn't even have the door properly sealed when the two of them were kissing again.

_Next Chapter: "This is our daughter. And he's a _Malfoy."


	27. Chapter 27

**_A/N: Hello! I promised another update today because of all the mishaps with my blasted computer. Anyway, this is probably the longest chapter in the fic, so enjoy it! We're more than halfway there now... _**

Chapter 27:

Scorpius:

"Are you happy?" I asked her.

"Did your family like me?" she wondered, hands winding around the chain that separated her from the channel.

"No," I said. "My mother absolutely adores you. Even though she knows we were shagging."

"She knows?" I said.

"I think my father told her," I said, laughing. "And then she was completely shocked. Somehow she had been convinced of my chastity."

"Well you had her fooled, didn't you?" she said, laughing. The wind blew her hair back from her face, her long muggle coat bundled tightly around her.

"What's wrong?" I wondered as her face fell again.

"My parents have forbidden me from seeing you," she said. "They don't like Malfoys."

I frowned putting an arm around her shoulders. "Oh."

"I'm not going to listen to them," she said, burying her nose in my wool coat. I put my arms around her, stroking her hair.

"Oh," I said again.

"Okay," she said, hugging me. "You're invited to the Potter's New Year's Party tomorrow night… Aunt Ginny told me to invite you."

"Somehow a Malfoy at a Potter Family New Year's Party does not sound like a good idea to me," I said.

"I know," she said. "but if you could just come and meet them and then leave…"

"I could probably do that for you," I said. "If you asked me nicely. Really nicely. It's like going into the Lion's den, Rose. Literally. It's all Gryffindors.

"There will be some Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs too," she pointed out.

"Slytherins?" I prompted.

"Well old Sluggy might show up, if he can still walk," she said. "And Eric will probably be there."

"Will he?" I said. "Well that makes it more tolerable, I guess."

"So will you come?" she wondered. "My parents can't get mad. The Potters invited you. Not me."

"But they did tell you to stay away from me," I pointed out.

"I also told them I wasn't going to," she said.

"Are you hurting your family over me?" I wondered.

"Just because they're a bunch of grudge-holding, stereotyping… Weasleys," I said.

"Ah yes," I said. "Those damn Weasleys."

"We're all horrible people," she said, hugging me and unbuttoning my coat so she could press her nose into my t-shirt.

"You smell good," she pointed out.

"Well thank you," I said, laughing. "So do you.

-CD-

The Potters house was very large. I supposed that happened when you were the head of the Auror Office. I walked up the front steps with held breath, following an old-looking tiny wizard who looked pretty blind. Everyone was just walking in, and as soon as they stepped through the door and removed their coats and cloaks, the garments were whisked by an invisible force up the stairs, where they disappeared.

Disrobed and feeling pretty damn uncomfortable, I tucked my hands into my jeans pockets and stepped into the party. Eric caught my shoulder after a moment.

"I had no idea you would be here, mate," he said. "You look like a lost dog. Come over here, the cool kid's corner."

"Hey Scorpius!" Albus said when we reached them, holding open a door that was apparently the gateway to the cool party. There was a room just full of Hogwarts kids. Or at least Hogwarts Weasley offspring and their closest friends. Jess Wood was already making out with a Scamander—Lysander, I already assumed—and Lily Potter was sitting with Hugo and some friends from school too. Rose was standing with a drink in her hand—as she put it, her birthday was in a week and she was drinking whatever the hell she pleased at this point. She never abided by English muggle rules anyway.

"Hey, duck," I said, putting my arm around her and kissing her cheek.

"Hi!" she said, kissing my cheek, then my mouth. "I'm glad you came."

"I managed to get in here undetected,' I explained.

"Ah," she said. "That won't last forever. Some parent will poke their head in here eventually to make sure we're not getting high—it's happened—and do a head check."

"I see," I said. "So you perfect little Weasleys have gotten sky high before?'

"Does this surprise you?" she questioned, rolling her eyes. "It was between fifth and sixth year, James, Albus, Roxanne, me, a couple others, experimenting around."

I laughed. "I like your style, Weasley."

"As you should," she said. "I've never done it since, though. Not for me."

"I don't care for it much either," I said.

"It is, however, better than regular cigarettes," she said.

"So true," I said, wrapping both of my arms around her.

I kissed her gently as, to the right of us, Eric and Albus tried to pretend like they weren't gay and it was only half working.

"How has it been going with your family?" I wondered, stroking Rose's hair for a moment.

"Oh, it's fine," she said. "They're hiding away and rallying their defenses, mostly because I pulled the age card. Then they pulled the 'roof' card, and I pulled the 'I have a million other places to go' card, and they pulled the 'we'll get the rest of the family on our side' and I pulled the 'are you really going to kick your own, otherwise perfect angel of a daughter, out because of a _guy _she's dating?' card and that shut them up. Dad up. Mum actually wasn't talking."

"That's a really complicated game of cards," I mused.

"We call it Weasley," she said. "Just Weasley."

"What will they do when they see me here?" I wondered.

"Well, as we're all about appearances—saving the wizarding word and all that necessitates such things—they'll save the yelling and dragging me away by my ankles until we are either, A, alone, or B, at least in a more private area."

"So is it going to ruin your appearance to be seen with a Malfoy?" I said. "Because I think my looks are about as trademark as yours. I'm either a Malfoy or a Lovegood at this point, and we all know the Scamanders have dark hair and their mother was the end of _that _line."

"I don't think they'd even _begin_ to see you as a Lovegood. For one thing, their faces are a lot rounder, and Luna is a lot less blonde than you are anyway…" she said. "So everyone already knows there's a Malfoy at the Potter's New Year's Eve party. It will be in the _Prophet _tomorrow.'

"You know, considering your family, that wouldn't actually surprise me," I commented.

She laughed and kissed me. "So what do you think? Do we tell them now, or do we just wait until they find out."

"Which one will anger them less?" I wondered.

"Probably telling them now," she admitted, seizing my hand and pulling me toward the door of the big room. We walked boldly into the Potter's hallway and she took me in the direction of what smelled like food.

"Rose!" a mane of red hair descended from… somewhere… and halted our path. Ginny Potter, whom I had seen a multitude of times at the train station, or even at Quidditch matches, stood in our way.

"Hey, Aunt Gin," Rose said. "Scorpius, this is my aunt, Ginny Potter. Aunt Ginny, this is Scorpius Malfoy."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Ginny said, extending her hand.

"You too," I said, shaking hers gently.

Without even looking, Ginny reached out behind her to halt the movements of a dark haired man without even looking.

"Harry, come here," she said, dragging him backwards until he turned around to look at us. I wondered if I would ever be that whipped.

"Harry," she said. "Scorpius Malfoy, Scorpius, this is my husband, Harry Potter."

"We've met once or twice," Harry Potter said, shaking my hand. "He's come into his father's work before. Glad that you could come, Scorpius. Make yourself comfortable. Although, with these things _I'm _not actually comfortable and it's my house. So… do your best. I have to go help Bill, Gin, there was a little bit of underage magic gone wrong and he's got a knife in his thigh."

"Oh dear," Ginny said. "I'll come too…"

I widened my eyes at Rose.

"Something like this happens every year," she explained. "Last year James was being an idiot and he actually did some really dumb arse clot of a spell and managed to get scalding water to wrap itself around Albus's arms. He got it off quickly, but as soon as Aunt Ginny repaired the skin, underage Albus performed a bit of remarkable magic and got rid of all of James's hair—which neither he or his mum could get to grow back before Albus let him know the counterjinx just as they were getting out of the car at the train station… It wouldn't have been all that remarkable… except, James is a pretty good wizard, and his parents are too, and none of them could get it back. Except for Albus…"

I laughed. "I really wish I had seen that."

"Speak of the devil," Rose said, pointed ahead to where, under a remaining Christmas decoration of mistletoe, James Potter was furiously snogging a mousy-haired witch.

"That's his girlfriend Casey," Rose explained. "She's American."

"I see," I said, laughing.

She pointed out each of her numerous aunts and uncles, all of the uncles looking pretty much the same to me, as cruel as that sounded. I just had to remember, Bill, and Percy were tall, George and Charlie were stocky. And then the aunts… Fleur was the French one. That wasn't hard. Angelina was the black one… and I could not remember for the life of me what Percy's wife's name was. But I supposed that just happened.

And then we came across her parents. After attracting the attention of everyone in the place—because they were all _shocked _that a Weasley was holding hands with a Malfoy—we found them standing by the fireplace in the kitchen, drinking cider and laughing at the anecdotes of Mr. Scamander, who was recognizable purely by the three scars on the side of his face—supposedly administered by some sort of magical beast he was working with.

When Ron Weasley and Hermione Weasley saw us, they both stopped talking. Both pairs of eyes narrowed in on Rose's hand, clamped firmly in mine. She worked to get their gazes to rise, and when they did, she met them. I tried not to. I didn't want any defiance coming off on me. I doubted that would work in my favor. I wanted to look humble and modest.

"Mum, Dad" she said. "This is Scorpius Malfoy. I believe you met him when he saved my life. Scorpius, this is my Mum, Hermione Weasley, and my dad, Ron."

"It's nice to meet you," I said, extending my hand quickly. Her mother and father both looked at it for a moment and then Hermione Weasley shook my hand very stiffly and coldly, and I could tell by the look on her face that she was unsure. I held my hand out to Rose's father. He actually just ignored it, so, after letting it hover awkwardly in the air for a moment, I drew it back and put it in my pocket instead.

"Stay away from my daughter," Ron Weasley said instead.

"Stop it Dad," Rose said, rolling her eyes.

"No!" he said. "Malfoy, stay away from her, or I will hex you."

Rose kept her hand firmly clenched around mine. I, however, was being rational, and realized that, as an adult, experienced auror, he could blow me into pieces if he truly wanted to. I may have been pretty talented, but that was in comparison to the rest of my class.

"Dad, you can't tell me who I want to be with," Rose growled.

"But I can look out for your safety, Rose, and I believe that being with him is harmful to your safety. So why should I continue to let you do this."

Rose's mum looked uncertain, so she said. "Ron—"

"Hermione, I know you want to talk through all of this. You always want to talk and think things through. That's how you solve all of our problems. But for once, let me handle this. We'd have come to the same decision if we spent weeks talking about it. I don't want him around her. This is our daughter. And he's a _Malfoy."_

And then something perhaps very bad happened. The way Ron Weasley said my name, as if it was no better than dirt and deserved to be stomped on and spit on, ripped into shreds… well it made me exceedingly angry. It was the same way I always imagined my father used to say his name in school. And there was no reason for him to turn things around on me. And yes, I got angry.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I demanded. Rose dug her nails into the back of my hand, trying to get me to be quiet.

"it means that you are nothing but an elitist snake," Ron Weasley replied.

"Ron," Hermione said sharply.

"No!" he said. "You…" he pointed at me. "I saw what your father did. I saw what your grandfather did. And if you think that, after all of that, I'm going to let you within ten feet of my daughter, you are sadly mistaken." He had his wand out now, pointed at me. I didn't reach for mine, but Rose had hers shortly. I couldn't believe she was actually drawing her own wand against her father.

"What's going on?" Harry Potter demanded, stepping instantly in between me and Mr. Weasley.

"I'm going to hex him," Ron said simply. "Hex his hands off so he can't touch my daughter again."

"Bloody… what do you think you're doing, Ron?" he demanded. "This is my house. And you can't just hex my party guests. Scorpius is here because I invited him. I trust him to be in my house, and I think you ought to leave him alone now."

Harry Potter seized me around the shoulder and yanked me away from Rose and her parents, out on their patio. I couldn't believe it. Harry fucking Potter… standing up for me… his childhood rival's son… this didn't make sense. Not that I wasn't grateful. I really didn't want to face off with Rose's dad.

"Thank you," I stuttered as soon as we were outside of the Potter's house. The cold night air whipped at my skin roughly and he sighed.

"Yes, of course," he said. "But let me say this, Scorpius… if you like Rose you're going to have to be patient while her father figures out his… well there's no kinder word for them—issues."

I nodded.

"Ron has always, without fail, been a grudge-holder," he said. "You have to give him a damn good reason to get over it. Do you like my niece?"

"Yes," I said.

"Do you love her?" he wondered.

"I… I don't know," I said.

He nodded. "All right. Well if you want to have the chance to love her, I have a few things to recommend… Forgive my language, but don't fuck with her. Don't mess with her. First of all, she'll kick your arse. Then her father and I will. And then you won't have an arse left. That's just my friendly suggestion. Also, keep up your rivalry. She would be furious if you let her win. And for now, don't so much as touch more than her hand in her parents' presence. They don't even want you to walk back in this house, but as it's my house, I make the rules. They will try to keep you away from her, so I don't know how you're going to do for the rest of this party. You won't offend anyone if you need to leave early. But I know she likes you. Rose, I mean… so I hope you can figure this out. If Ron bothers you tonight, come find me."

"Thanks," I said, nodding, despite the fact that I would not search out anyone's help with my problems.

"Not everyone sees your family like he does," Harry Potter said to me. "I can assure you of that."

"It's nice to hear that," I said.

"Well get back inside," he said. "Go celebrate the New Year with your friends."

_Next Chapter: "All right everybody, there's really nothing to see here. I pormise- Albus!" _


	28. Chapter 28

**_A/N: Someone told me- and I have no probem with it- that my Ron seems OOC. I guess I can see that, but at the same time, I don't think so. The Ron in Harry Potter always seemed to be the sort that would be a talented grudge-holder, but at the same time, most of what he does is out of love- whether it be for Hermione, or in this case, Rose. He knows how much his family and friends were hurt by the Death Eaters in the War, and it sort of sticks with him. He doesn't want to see the same for his daughter as she gets more deeply involved with a Death Eater he's not sure he can trust. And then his temper... well Harry and Ron both have amazing tempers in my opinion. _**

**_Anyway, thanks to Avanell for my 100th review! _**

Chapter 28:

Rose:

I wasn't sure who was winning in this staring contest. It was me, versus my father. Blue-green glared at solid blue, unwavering, solid staring. He broke his gaze just as a hand touched my shoulder. Scorpius was standing behind me again and I turned to him.

"Did I not just say keep away from her?" Dad demanded.

"Shut up Dad," I said, putting an arm around Scorpius and stalking away with him toward the room where I was with my friends.

Once we were safely through the door, he wrapped me up in his arms and started to kiss me. I wound my arms around his neck. Recent additions to the party included friend of the family, Mike Finnigan, and Nina. But I was more concerned with Scorpius.

"I don't care what they say," I said. "I'm going to be rebellious, obnoxious, and Muggle drama dramatic. I'm going to kiss you until they rip me away by my hair. Because Scorpius Malfoy, I really hate you, and I really like you."

He laughed. "I really hate and like you too, Rose."

When we turned, I realized that everyone was staring at us. Every head in the room was looking up and in our direction.

"Stop looking at me!" I ordered Jess.

"We're not looking at you!" she said quickly, pointing just to the right of us. Next to me, just right there, stood Albus, making out, plain as day, with Eric. It was as if they forgot the entire room was there, able to see them. Everyone stare, open-mouthed.

"All right, everybody," I said hastily. "There's really nothing to see… I promise. Al—" I poked him on the shoulder. "Albus, please realized that you just came out to the entirety of Hogwarts."

Albus froze, pulling away from Eric and looking at me.

"Whoops," he said. Eric stared too. They both didn't even seem to realize, while they were doing it, what exactly they were doing. They seemed, for some reason, to have briefly forgotten about the presence of most of the Potter and Weasley children still at Hogwarts, as well as many of their friends.

Everyone was staring. Hell, I was staring. So was Scorpius.

"Interesting," Jess said suddenly. Lucy nodded her agreement.

"Are you…. Gay?" Lily demanded.

Albus just walked out of the room, with Eric following quickly after him. Scorp cleared his throat loudly.

"They must be really drunk," he said.

I ducked out of the room with Scorpius following me. Albus and Eric were on the front steps, Albus's head in his hands, while Eric looked on, unsure. I knew his parents were inside the house, friends of Aunt Ginny. They both didn't know what to do.

"Have you told your parents, Eric?" I wondered gently as, I was fairly certain, my cousin started to hyperventilate in front of me.

"Yeah," he said. "But I don't think it was time to tell all of Hogwarts… It just sort of happened.'

He sat down next to Albus on the steps, putting his hand on his shoulder. "Are you all right, Al?"

"I'm fine," Albus said. "I can't believe we did that, but I'll live… I'm just a little worried."

"Understandably," Scorpius pointed out, putting his arm around my waist gently.

"Have you introduced Eric to your parents, Al?" I wondered.

"Not really," he said. "I sort of just dragged him back when he showed up."

"I think you ought to do that," I said.

"I agree," Eric said.

"As long as I can more formally meet yours," Al said stubbornly. Eric just laughed at him.

"Don't worry," I said. "Once they all get over the shock of it, it'll be fine."

"Right," Al said, nodding. He looked at Eric, standing up. Eric followed him into the house again, leaving Scorp and I alone on the porch. He put his arms around me as I shivered, hugging me. I looked up and looked inside. I couldn't see my parents through the window, so I assumed they couldn't see me. I lifted my chin and started to kiss him. He was very gentle with me, letting me hug him and kiss him carefully, contently.

"Life is changing," he whispered.

"Everything is changing," I replied.

-CD-

Scorpius:

I looked at the Potter's party. Rose was having a conversation with Jess about something apparently very important. But she did share her drink with me, and I was enjoying something alcoholic as well as her grandmother's amazing peanut butter balls. I leaned against the wall, looking at the watch I got for my seventeenth birthday. It was about eleven forty-five. Fifteen minutes until the year I ended school, the year I hopefully got accepted into the auror training program, where I would move away from home, get my own place and start my own life.

She was right of course. I had had very few encounters where Rose Weasley was wrong. That didn't mean she was right more than I was. Just that I was also right ninety-eight percent of the time. Either way, life was changing. In a good way, I believed. Change was usually pretty good. Something interesting was ahead of me, I always knew. I could feel it. Eric would joke with me when I said that, stating that he didn't know I had seer blood in me. But it was true.

"We should probably go out there," Rose said. "We all pack in the main room and watch a projection of Uncle Harry's wizard's clock on the wall, counting down the seconds until year changes."

"All right," I said. "Will I get hexed?"

"I'd like to see my dad try," she said, hooking her fingers in mine.

"All right then," I said. She pulled me into the main room, and we stood on the opposite side of the clumps of people from everyone—meaning her parents. Albus and Eric came to hover behind us, sort of half hidden by the crowd, but still standing very close. Even we wizards upheld the tradition of kissing in the New Year, and I wondered if they would choose to display their previously hidden affection to the entire party. I didn't care. They could do whatever the hell they pleased.

I kept my fingers linked with Rose's, but not standing any closer to her than her father would prefer, knowing it was the best way to avoid a death on my part. Actually, when I thought about it, I realized that her father would prefer me to be no closer than the nearest county, but I couldn't grant him that. At the moment, for me, her presence was magnetic. I wanted to always be touching her, and I felt odd if I wasn't at least holding her hand.

Eric asked me if I still wanted to crush her in all of my exams. The answer was truthfully, yes. I wanted to obliterate her in Quidditch and academics, get awards to the school, everything. The only thing I ever wanted to tie her in was having both of us getting into the auror training. I didn't know how likely it was that they would accept Albus Potter, Rose Weasley, and me. I knew that the least likely accepted out of the three of us would be me. I was a Malfoy after all.

We all looked at the clock on the wall of the Potter's living room, watching the second hand go by. Rose squeezed my hand, looking up with a smile. I smiled back down at her warmly.

"Fifteen seconds!" Ginny announced, starting the countdown. We joined in with her, counting backwards from ten. When we all reached zero, amidst cries of "Happy New Year," Rose stretched onto her tiptoes, seizing my head and drawing me in to kiss me on the lips. It wasn't a particularly long kiss, but good enough for me. When I pulled away, I saw her father glaring at me.

"I think I ought to head home, Rose," I said.

"Why?" she questioned, pouting.

"Because," I said. "I don't want your father to kill me for touching you."

"All right," she said, sticking out her lower lip some more. I looked around and kissed her again, very quickly, sucking on that beautiful petal of a lower lip.

"Happy New Year," I said, touching her nose with my fingertips.

"Happy New Year to you too, Malfoy," she said, squeezing my other hand with hers.

"Bye," I said.

"Bye," she said. She smiled gently at me. I walked toward the front of the house.

"Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Potter," I said, walking by them. "But I think I have to be going."

"Oh well, thank you for coming Scorpius," Ginny said. "Tell your parents Happy New Year for us, will you?"

"Of course," I said. "Happy New Year to you."

My coat was flying down the stairs when I got the base of them and I pulled it on, heading outside into the night.

It was a good night, though perhaps a little nippy. The wind whipped against my face, but it was all right. I just ducked my head and started down the sidewalk. Stars glittered in the sky, despite being so near to London. I looked up at them for a moment, breathing in the crisp night air before turning on the spot.

My parents were in the drawing room, warm in front of the massive fireplace together.

"Happy New Year!" Mum said to me when I appeared.

"Same to you," I said, accepting the glass of champagne she offered me, even though I was already verging on tipsy. I sat down in the nearest big armchair, taking a sip of the celebratory feminine drink.

"The Potters wish us a Happy New Year," I said.

"How was the party?" Mum wondered.

"Harry Potter kept his best friend from turning me into dust for kissing his daughter," I said. "it was pleasant.'  
"Oh…" Mum said.

"No, it really wasn't bad," I said. "As much as Ron Weasley bothers me, the family is very nice. I suppose I sort of understand. But I don't agree with it."

Dad stared into the fireplace. "I'm sorry Scorpius."

"It's not a problem," I said, knocking back the champagne so that the bubbles actually burned my throat.

He shook his head, but didn't say anything. I just sighed again, looking into the orange flames of the fireplace.

"So this is the New Year," I said.

"You'll be eighteen this year," Mum said. She always said this—as if she couldn't actually believe it.

"Yes. I know," I said, looking at the remaining drops of champagne in my glass. I tilted the glass upside down over my mouth, licking up the last drops. I then flicked my wand at it, sending it across the room.

"It's amazing," Dad said, getting up and walking over, champagne glass in hand, to lean against the mantle, staring into the flames. He then threw his glass into it, causing drunk me to jump. Mum looked startled, but didn't say anything as Dad closed his eyes and rested his forehead against his arm.

_Next Chapter: "Good thing you're not in Slytherin. Come on. I should probably go to the hospital wing..." _


	29. Chapter 29

**_A/N: Spontaneous second update- and to my mysterious anonymous reviewer who insists that my Ron is OOC: I think we can agree to disagree here. Because I've read the Harry Potter books about a billion times (exaggeration, yes, but I did lose count on them all), and this is how I see Ron Weasley. I see him as someone who would go to the ends of the earth to protect his family. Because he's a Weasley. If he thought for any reason that she could get hurt, then he would do anything to protect her. And he has had bad enough experiences in the past with Draco Malfoy, and maybe he should be able to see the differences between them, and yes Scorpius is not a Death Eater, and nor will he ever be... but he is his father's son, and that speaks volumes. After what he and his family went through in the war, he is bound to be wary about anything that connects his daughter to a Death Eater, even remotely. However, I understand that many people see characters in different ways, and I think that is part of what makes this site so amazing- everyone gets to put out their own interpretations. And I can easily see how you can see him as the Ron you see him. If you feel strongly enough about it, there are probably other fics out there that are better for you to read, with Ron's that you would like, and I won't take offense if you choose to abandon my fic in favor of those, though I hope you won't! Sincerely, cordially, Cappy. _**

Chapter 29:

Rose:

There was a tangible moroseness in the air when I stomped may way through the front doors of the castle the day back. First years were sliding in the water, and almost injuring themselves and others. It fell upon Scorp and me to control traffic, which was not as easy as it sounds.

The hem of my robes was soaked and my neck sore from where an uncoordinated peer seized me around the neck to hold herself upright (Nina), when I stumbled into the Slytherin common room with Scorpius. He nudged a first year asleep on the couch by the fireplace until he woke up and went to bed, and then we proceeded to drop our robes in front of the fireplace and curl together on the couch, relishing the warmth.

"What do you want for your birthday?" he wondered.

"Good sex," I replied.

"I can do that," he said. "I'm talking wrapable presents here, Rose."

"Oh," I said. "Well you could put a bow on it… if you really wanted."

"Seriously," he said, laughing.

"Diamonds," I said.

"Rose!' he said, chuckling still.

"Hmm." I put my chin in my hand. "You ask a difficult question Malfoy. I have no bloody clue…"

"You've only got a few days to decide Rose," he pointed out. "it has to be achievable in that amount of time too… think about that."

"I want…" I said. "My own Falcons t-shirt… and get creative."  
"All right," he said, hooking his hands in mine.

"Let's go to the baths," I said. "I want a nice warm bath. You can join me if you want."

"I think that sounds really good," he said.

We were in the bathroom quickly, turning on all of the taps and peeling off layers to get nice and warm and comfortable. I was still having a hard time getting used to the God-like qualities of his body. He was the sort of thing they raved about in Greek mythology—if anyone was wonderimg, Greek gods were wizards and witches who were obnoxious and exerted power over all of the muggles who were really stupid and believed them, and were also brainwashed into seeing nothing but beauty. If anyone was wondering.

Anyway, Scorp, was just… inconceivably… attractive. I didn't get how he had the six pack and amazing arm muscles. No one got that look from Quidditch training. He wasn't even the ideal build for a seeker, but he somehow made it work… I didn't even know. And he had a face twice as gorgeous as anyone I'd ever seen—even the Scamander twins, and I'd _shagged _one of them because of how hot he was. And that would be Lorcan. But either way, Scorp just always managed to knock me off my feet with his charming looks.

He dropped his shirt on the floor, kneeling down to feel the warm water of the bath.  
"it's pretty nice," he said.

"I agree," I said, rubbing my hand through a fluffy towel.

He dropped his pants and boxers quickly, jumping in through the mound of bubbly, lavender scented foam. His soaked blonde head reappeared moments later, sleek from the water. I jumped in after him, and he picked me up in his arms as soon as I was in there.

"How the temperature?" he wondered, pushing the limp tendrils of my hair back from my face.

"Wonderful," I said, smoothing bubbles of foam out of his hair.

"Good," he said, his hands sliding against my water-slick skin.

"What do you think?" I said. "Good to be back or not?"

"I'm not actually sure," he said, shaking his head. "I think good. Because here, I can kiss you, without fear of getting hexed."

"You like me too much," I said.

"Yes, but I also hate you," he pointed out. "So it eventually balances."

"My Quidditch team is practicing soon," I said.

"As if mine isn't?" he said skeptically.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Why would yours even bother? You're going to lose anyway. Are you just trying to make it a less embarrassing defeat?"

"Rose, we're not even playing you next match," he said.

"I'll be the one in the stands wearing the Ravenclaw colors," I assured him.

"Traitor of a girlfriend. You could at least root for me when we're not playing you," he said.

"No," I said. "Because technically, every game you play is against me at this point. Who will be in the final? You or me? It's a good question."

"I just had the amusing thought… what if neither of us were in the finals?" he said, laughing.

"Do you honestly think we're going to lose to Hufflepuff?" I said skeptically. "Do you honestly think Ravenclaw is going to lose to Hufflepuff?"

"Do you think we might lose to Hufflepuff?" he questioned.

"Um…" I said. "Well I'd say it's more likely. Your team sucks Malfoy. Except for you, actually."

"I know," he said sadly. "It's actually quite true."

"Modesty," I said.

"You just told me my team sucked," he said. "The least I can do is relish my own talent at this point."

He dipped below the water for a moment, disappearing. He actually reappeared quickly, splashing noisily.

"Get out of the bath, Rose!" he said.

"What?" I said, startled. "Why?"

"Get out, get out, just trust me!" he said, picking me up and setting me on the edge of the pool.

"Bloody hell…!" I said as he pulled himself out of the pool too, scrambling for his wand. As he waved his wand through the air, I noted that his arm appeared to be bleeding, delicate beads of red sliding down his water-coated skin.

"Are you okay?" I demanded, as suddenly, by command of his wand, a long snake flew up out of the water.

"What the hell is that?" I screeched. If there was anything in this world I hated, it was snakes. So much. So much.

"I have no bloody clue," Scorpius said, waving his wand at the mid-air serpent, causing it to thrash once and land with a thud on the tiles of the floor, still.

"How did it get in here?" I demanded.

"I don't know," he said, looking at his arm. The area where he was bleeding was already starting to swell, and the blood was turning purplish. He groaned.

"it's poisonous," he complained, reaching for his clothes and pulling them on. As he tugged his clothes on, he looked at the snake more closely.

"I hate snakes," I said.

"Good thing you're not in Slytherin," he said. "Come on, I should probably go the hospital wing…"

I pulled on my shirt, already having buttoned my jeans, before darting over to him.

"Are you okay?" I wondered, looking at his arm.

"Oh yes," he said. "Unless, of course, we don't get to the hospital wing in about ten minutes. In that case, I'll probably be dead, actually."

I stared at him. "You've got to be kidding me."

"No," he said, seizing me with the arm that wasn't swelling profusely and dragging me out of the bathroom. I rushed us along, realizing that the color was draining quickly from his already pale face.

"For once," I complained. "I would just like to take a bath without living in fear of being killed!"

"I know the feeling," he said lazily. His footsteps were getting slower and less coordinated, and I just managed to guide him through the doors of the hospital wing when he passed out cold on the floor.

-CD-

Scorpius:

I woke to the annoying sounds of winter birds, and a redhead taking up part of my bed. Rose looked down at me speculatively, arms crossed in front of her chest.

"You better be healthy," she said strictly.

"I feel wonderful," I said, sitting up. I looked down at my arm, which still had two bright red marks from the teeth of the snake. My arm looked ghostly pale.

"Well that's good," she said. "I need to have a healthy boyfriend on my birthday."

"For the good sex," I deduced.

"Precisely," she said, pushing my hair back from my face. "Is there anything I can get you? Are you sure you feel all right?"

"I'm starving actually," I said.

"Voila," she said, producing a tray of toast and oatmeal. Not, perhaps, my favorite meal, but she probably had strict orders from Madame Pomfrey to keep thins light.

"How long have I been out?" I wondered.

"Thirty-six hours," she replied. "Which means my birthday is in two days and you need to get shopping."

"Oy, I almost died," I said.

"I know, I know," she said. "So I suppose I'll give you an extra couple of days, but… well… the sex… I'm not going to wait for that."

"Fine then," I said, laughing a little. She grinned at me and kissed me on the forehead.

"I'm glad you're okay," she said.

"Thanks," I said, munching on a bit of toast. I heard heavy discussion coming from Madame Pomfrey's office.

"Let me guess," I said. "My father's here?"

She nodded. "He and your mother were here as soon as McGonagall's owl told them. She's in a right state- the headmistress, I mean."

"McGonagall, in a state?" I questioned.

"Oh yes," she said. "She's… furious with… well the aurors, actually, because they're not doing their job. I'm thinking we might have to turn o the prefect's bathroom…"

"She's mad then?" I said.

"As a hatter," she replied. I didn't get it, so she shook her head.

"Right," I said. "Well apparently that snake… was a magical non-tradable, rare, usually captive snake. So Merlin knows how it got in our bathtub. What I'm wondering is how we didn't see it. I'm thinking we were more distracted with the nudity—which reminds me: When McGonagall finished yelling at the aurors, she turned to me and screamed ay me for co-ed bathing. I actually gave her a retort. Yes. I gave a retort to the headmistress. I said that if she hadn't forced us to deal with each other's interruptions, then we wouldn't be a couple, and that either way, it was pretty damn lucky, as I saved your life. Which actually shut her up. Though I think she's still mad at me."

"Maybe she'll take away your badge," I said hopefully, knowing I would get a stroke of amusement out of having Rose Weasley stripped of her powers and left subordinate to me. It would be a sadistic sort of dream come true.

"Let me look at your arm," she said, seizing my wrist and bringing my arm toward her.

"Are you a healer and you didn't tell me?" I asked as she poked at the skin with her wand, muttering to herself.

"Madame Pomfrey told me to make myself useful if I was just going to sit in here all day," she explained. "So she taught me how to check your wound."

"And?" I prompted.

"Seems pretty good to me," she said. "But then again, I'm not a healer."

"As long as I can get out of here," I said. "Preferably today."

"Good luck convincing her of that," she said, shaking her head. She sighed gently.

"What's wrong?" I demanded.

"The death threats are starting to annoy me," she explained.

"You and me both," I grumbled, squeezing her hand, surprised to find my punctured arm feeling as good as new, nice and strong.

"Ah well," she said. "I suppose this just means we'll have to do the auror thing a little early. I suspect we'll do a better job of getting this prat than the fools at the office. Don't you agree?"

"We do know Hogwarts better than they do," I said.

"I agree," she said thoughtfully.

_Next Chapter: "Guess what? I'm a girl. A straight girl who likes guys. But guess what! Despite the fact that you are mildly _attractive _I'm not attracted to you." _


	30. Chapter 30

**_A/N: Some people are starting to get annoyed with me for all of the death attempts :) Well I hate to say that when you do find out who is causing all of this trouble, it is very sudden, very abrupt, and very few clues are given beforehand. So just bear with me. Only about ten chapters before you find out why... Why is really the important part. _**

Chapter 30.

Rose:

The day before my birthday, my Qudditch team was piled into the locker room, huddled by the small stove of a fire and casting warming spells into their boots and gloves for the trek to the castle. My hair was whipped away from my face, which was wind-nipped to a Weasley-normal red. I thought the air felt good. The rest of the team thought it felt like a thousand splinters of ice were being shoved into their skin.

"Good practice today, team!" I said cheerfully.

"We're not practicing tomorrow, right?" Jess demanded, rubbing her hands together, clearly trying to get the feeling back into them.

"Of course not," Lily said. "It's her birthday!"

"Do you even _know _Rose?" Jess said. "Bleeding hell…"

Truth is, I'd actually contemplated a practice for my birthday (conveniently a Saturday) when I discovered that no one else had booked the pitch. But by the time I got down there to scratch the Gryffindor name in the paper with my quill, I realized that a pick-up Quidditch game had already taken the spot.

"No, there's no practice tomorrow," I said. "I couldn't get the pitch."

"Which, roughly translated," Al said, blowing a gust of warm air up his t-shirt. "If she could've gotten the pitch, we would've had to practice."

The rest of the team shot me "she's crazy" looks, but I chose to ignore them, pulling my cloak on over my other set of robes and starting to wind my scarf around my neck. Abandoning the team, I headed into my office for a moment or so, to make sure everything was in a good enough state.

I was just filing my plays for the Hufflepuff match into a filing cabinet that only I could open , when Mike knocked gently on the door and came in.

"Hello Mike," I said. The hard feelings between us had more or less vanished, though I still got the feeling he didn't like me very much.

"Hey," he said. "I have a question for you."

"Go right ahead," I said, reading over one of the plays James left from last year.

"Albus is… gay, right?" he said.

"I couldn't tell you if I knew," I said apathetically.

"No, he said so," he said. "At the party…"

"Mm…" I said. That actually was true…

"And I was just wondering… if maybe you could ask him to just… change in the showers… it just sort of uncomfortable."

I instantly crumpled the paper in my hands into a tight ball, whirling to face him.

"Excuse me?" I said.

"It just…" he said.

"_It's just," _I mimicked. "Mike, guess what. I'm a girl. A straight girl who likes guys. But guess what, despite the fact that you are mildly attractive, I'm not attracted to you. I'm not sitting in the locker room saying 'let's see if I can catch a glimpse of his parts.' And nor is Albus. You don't have a problem with me in there, you shouldn't have a problem with him in there."

"It's different!" he said.

"How is it different?" I demanded.

"I'm not comfortable with it!" he said.

"Why?" I demanded.

"Because it's wrong!" he said.

I was across my office in two strides, landing right in front of him. I hoped he realized he really shouldn't toy with me.

"Tell me again that my cousin, who can't help who he is, is _wrong," _I said. "Tell me that the people he loves, anything he loves, the way he loves, is _wrong. _I will never make my cousin do anything. This is hard enough as it is. So tell me, Mike, is the fact that he _loves _at all, _wrong?"_

"I don't agree with it," he said.

And then I had my wand out.

"Get out of my locker room," I said. "Get out. Take your stuff with you. Don't come back."

He glared at me, but didn't say anything.

"What was that about?" Jess demanded when I reappeared.

"We need to give beater trials. We're down one," I said, grabbing my bag and storming out of the locker room.

-CD-

Rose:

I woke on the morning of my birthday to a familiar face sitting right beside me.

"How did you get up here?" I demanded of Scorpius. Normally, the slide would appear, and the boys would be unable to get up the stairs. Unless of course a girl was with them.

"it wasn't that difficult to counter the slide," he explained. "The siren, however, was a bit annoying. I'm surprised it didn't wake you up. And I would also like to say that we don't have these things in the Slytherin dorms… and finally, Happy Birthday."

"Thanks," I said, sitting up. Next to him, hovering in midair, was a tray of warm chocolate chip waffles.

"Ooh!" I said. 'Breakfast in bed."

"Yes, ma'am," he said, and with a nudge of his wand he sent the tray floating delicately to me.

I took a bite of a waffle quickly. "Do I have presents?"

"There's a massive pile from your family here on the floor," he said, pointing down next to him. I leaned up to see the pile. "I'm assuming this is one of the benefits of being a big family."

"You are correct," I said, laughing.

"But my presents first," he said.

"Okay," I said, jumping up and down eagerly while drinking my pumpkin juice.

He offered me first a long package, wrapped in scarlet and gold. I opened it up, slidng off the paper, and then opening the box. Inside was a woman's size Falmouth Falcons t-shirt.

I laughed. "Yes! Amazing. It's exactly what I wanted!"

"I know," he said. "I figured that was why you said 'I want my own Falcons t-shirt.'"

I laughed again, and he passed me his other box. This one was wrapped in black paper. I opened it and pulled off the lid of this one.

"I was informed by the woman in the Hogsmeade shop yesterday that charm bracelets are apparently very nineties and that she wouldn't doubt that my mother had one when she was in school. I returned that trends always come back around. Then she told me that I clearly didn't know anything about fashion anyway, and she said that she hoped my girlfriend was forgiving.'

"I like ninties accessories," I informed him. He laughed brightly. The bracelet was silver, like my necklace, and it had four charms. Two were identical to the ones on my necklace, and then next to that was a lion, and one more loop over was a Serpent.

"Serpent?" I said.

"Your first real relationship is with a Slytherin, is it not?" he questioned. "You ought to commemorate."

"Ah yes," I said. "I agree."

He climbed up into my bed and put his arms around me.

"You're eighteen," he said. "I feel like a kid."

I laughed. "You'll be eighteen next month."

"Yes, but it's one month of feeling inferior," he complained.

"it's about time," I replied, burying my nose gently in the cotton of his t-shirt.

He nudged the tray out of the way with his hand, even though I definitely wasn't done with those waffles yet. But he was leaning over the top of me then, kissing me, stroking my hair.

"Happy Birthday, Rose," he whispered against my neck, causing tremors to run through my body. He kissed my neck, and I felt his tongue on my skin.

"I'm going to spoil you today," he informed me. And then he was off the bed, standing by the side of it. "So I'd finish eating."

He started putting the presents from the floor onto my bed as I wolfed down my waffles happily.

-CD-

Rose:

"We're going to win," I hissed, waving my wand through the air.

"Only because the rest of them aren't very good at making snowballs with magic," Scorpius replied waving his wand and dumping another load of snow on top of our mountain of snow that was our protective wall. We hunkered behind it, with me shooting cleverly bewitched snowballs, made perfectly dense and round with magic, at all of my family members who had so unwittingly pitted themselves against Scorp and me. Which was really dumb, actually, as we were wiping the floor with them at this point.

In a wave of thick cloaks and Muggle winter clothes, a crowd of Scorp's Slytherin friends, as well as Albus and a few other Gryffindors.

"I propose," I said quickly, standing up and breaking my cover—my family attempted to pelt me, but I deflected all of their snowballs with a wave of my wand. "A Gryffindor versus Slytherin snowball fight."

Scorpius looked up at me, the front ends of his bangs soaked, coated with snowflakes from when he got hit in the face by a flying Fred snowball.

"You're on," he said. "Slytherin's over here, Gryffindor's with the Weasleys."

I danced across the snow and landed behind the barricade built out of snow by the rest of my family. Al dropped behind there too, followed by Jess, Nina, Angie, Lucy, Lily and a bunch of other Gryffindor's I hadn't even noticed were outside. Lysander Scamander joined us too, choosing Gryffindor in the absence of his own house.

"Are we ready?" I said. "I designate myself as team captain, one because I'm head girl, two, I'm Quidditch captain, three, it's my birthday and—"

"Four because she wouldn't let anyone else take control anyway," Nina finished.

"And she's a tyrant," Albus said, already starting to form snowballs with his wand.

"Jess, Lysander and I will take aim," I said, knowing the two of them would be capable of firing the balls just as I was. "Another bunch of you ought to start forming snowballs, like Albus, and then the rest of you build up the fortification. This wasn't bad when it was just Weasley's but now our flanks are exposed. And like me, Malfoy knows how to curve snowballs around corners."

I started to fire the snowballs as fast as I could with my wand, pelting the Slytherin defense—which was growing rapidly through the spells of Eric and Scorpius. For some reason, it was as important to me as a Quidditch match. I just wanted to beat Scorpius and his annoying band of sneaky Slytherins. I was going to make them into nothing but smushed out imprints in the snow.

I fired a snowball up and over and, if I wasn't mistaken, hit Scorpius smack on top of the head—I recognized his petulant growl. Another snowball whooshed up through the air, a massive one. I waved my wand and blew it into a million piece, returning it to snowflake form before it could clunk my teammates in the head. I wasn't exactly sure what happened, but somehow a Gryffindor flag was hovering above our heads and we were firing snowballs rapid fire back and forth.

The only problem was defense. Theirs was as good as ours. They could keep the snowballs off of their backs just as well as we could. Which sort of pissed me off, actually, because it meant that no one was winning.

"I think we need to leave the barricade," I said, waving my wand and causing the pyramid of snowballs that I had in front of me. They lifted up in the air, floating gently through the air in front of me. I waved my wand gently, having them bob along. Creating a shield around myself and the snowballs, I started to sprint across the snow. I dropped the shield midway between the two sides and started to shoot the snowballs at them.

"Bad move Weasley," Malfoy said, shooting a massive quaffle-sized snowball at me it hit me square in the face as I sent a stream of snowballs balanced on the wind, out at them. I hit four consecutive Slytherins, plus took out the top layer of snow on their fortification. However, I was also flat on my back in the snow.

I probably would've, any other day, been exponentially pissed and grumpy at the icy water on my face. But the sky was just so incredibly blue. And it was my birthday after all. There was no reason for me to be unhappy. And so I just stayed there.

After a moment of staring up at the blinding white-blue sky, I started to move my legs in and out, pushing snow to either side.

"What are you doing?" Scorpius demanded, appearing next to me, looking down at me with a bemused expression on his face.

"Making a snow angel," I replied.

He laughed and just dropped to the ground next to me. He put his arms out to the sides and started to mimic me. I joined in his laughter.

-CD-

_Next Chapter: "I didn't know you called what you do on the Quidditch pitch athletics." _


	31. Chapter 31

**_A/N: A bit of a shorter chapter than usual. Man the next twenty chapters are just sitting on my computer, begging me to publish them. It's crazy to think I'm only twenty away from the ending! _**

Chapter 31:

Scorpius:

Rose curled up, sitting cross-legged in front of the Gryffindor fire, comfortable on a fraying and slightly scorched rug by the flames. She had donned an older and slightly shrunken and therefore more flattering, Weasley sweater—red with a gold R knitted into the front. She had a cup of hot chocolate with a peppermint stick in it, which I had gone to get from the elves in the kitchens while Rose took a warm shower in her dormitory.

"How's the birthday going so far?" I asked. It was only noon, and she was already quite content and happy, I assumed.

"I think it's one of the best yet," she said, leaning against my side, head resting on my shoulders.

"I'm glad," I said.

"What other amazing things do you have planned for me?" she wondered.

"Oh…" I said. "Well there's the sex still. I promised good sex."

"Yes, that you did," she said. "But we'll save that for later. I have a good image in my mind right now of a really warm Slytherin bed with warming pans and toasty toes, which I warmed up by pressing them while they were in their ice cube form, into your legs."

"Yeah, we'll see," I said. "I like every bit of that except for the very end there. I'd like to keep my legs warm, if it's all the same to you."

"We'll see," she said.

"As it is, I have a few other plans," I said. "Dinner, for one. Whatever you want. The elves told me they could make it."

"Oh really?" she said. "Since when are you so buddy-buddy with the house-elves?"

"Since I'm head boy and that makes them love me," I said. "They'd love you too. The badge holds power Rose…"

"As if I didn't already know…" she said, laughing a little.

"I know," I said. "Power abuser."

"I wouldn't actually talk, Malfoy," she said. "Though I almost gave Mike a detention yesterday… hey, I know what I want for my birthday—a magically gifted and insanely nice beater."

"I don't actually think I can do that…" I said. "And I wouldn't want to either. The better your beater, the worse chance I have at winning the oh-so-elusive and Gryffindor-monopolized Quidditch cup."

"Yes, I suppose that would be a little counterproductive for you," she said, shaking her head and sipping her coco. I linked my fingers with hers, resting my head against hers as we stared at the fire.

"Just a little," I said.

"I'm really happy," she said.

"that's good," I said. "It is your birthday after all."

"Good point," she said, nodding, laughing lightly.

"I expect this same treatment on my birthday," I said, realizing that by saying this I was saying that I thought we would still be together in a month. Honestly, I didn't see why not at this point. I didn't think there was anything to drive us apart, except for maybe her family. But I didn't even imagine that happening.

"I suppose I can probably do this," she said. "I just have to be really nice for a day."

"I've been really nice lately in general," I pointed out.

"You still like to call me a bitch," she said, rolling her eyes.

"And it's a term of endearment," I said.

"That and duck," she said.

"Northern term of endearment," I said.

"Right," she said. "Dooook."

"Don't mock me. It's affectionate," I said. "Don't tell me you've never heard it."

"Well when you wrote it on that note you passed me in Charms I'll admit I was a tad confused about why you were calling me a water bird," she said.

"Stop it," I said, laughing.

"What? Going to call me a bitch again?" she wondered.

"If I feel like it," I said, shrugging this time and sliding an arm around her. She was smiling.

"You're beautiful," I told her instead.

"Thank you," she said gently.

"You're welcome," I said softly. She sighed gently, happily, leaning into me even more. She closed her eyes, content.

Earlier, after making snow angels, I pulled her to me and we remained there in the snow, arms around each other, freezing, but also very warm. She was always warm, and comfortable, and welcome. And I could stare into those eyes of hers for a good long time and not get bored. They were endless, rippling and glowing beauty. It was very poetic of me to see it in there somewhere, but in the heart of every Slytherin lay a much oppressed and slightly smothered, albeit very gifted romantic poet/sap.

She was beautiful. I wasn't lying when I said that. I knew that even when I didn't like her—even though I finally accepted that I always sort of had a thing for her. Either way. She was just radiant too. She turned heads in the Great Hall every morning, even though everyone had already seen her. She was every guy's dream: she loved Quidditch, and she loved being a girl. And she, it turned out, was very okay with, and good at sex. But that wasn't even the beginning of it. She had a good personality, was competitive, and perhaps a bit over the top of it, but she was also exceedingly smart, good to talk to, and, as I had discovered, very intelligent.

So in the end it turned out I was pretty lucky to have her.

-CD-

Rose:

I waited at the top of the astronomy tower, just as Scorpius told me to. I couldn't believe he was bringing our entire dinner up there so we could eat it by one of the massive windows, looking out at the grounds and stars. But that was what I told him I wanted to do, so he decided we ought to do it.

He came with a train of six house-elves, who were carrying their things between them.

"Getting impatient yet?" he wondered conjuring a table up for the elves to put things on, as well as for him to put the main dish—mashed potatoes, a massive tureen of them—on.

"Thank you," he said cheerfully to the elves.

They bowed in their little tea-towels and turned to march back to the kitchens.

"Mashed potatoes," he said. "Broccoli with cheese, American fried chicken, Asian sesame noodles, Coke, and… for desert, peanut butter cups."

"Yay," I said happily. I realized that the things I asked for didn't really go together on a meal. I piled the mashed potatoes onto my plate happily and buttered and salted them contently.

"You have a strange taste in food," he informed me, pulling his own food towards him.

"I know," I said. "I've always been told. Once a summer, in honor of winter birthdays, or just birthdays during the school year, my grandma will make a meal for each of us—she's the best cook in the world. The entire family is always very confused when it's my day.

"Do you eat this?" he wondered, gesturing at my plate. "Because I can completely empathize if that's the case."

"Mashed potatoes take more of a role as a side," I explained. "Because I really can't fathom making my entire family eat pounds of mashed potatoes each."

"But you can fathom making m do it," he said, shaking his head. "Thanks."

"You can't tell me they aren't amazing," I said.

"No I guess I can't," he said, sliding closer to me on the deep windowsill. Outside, snow floated down gently, a nice early-January snowfall. It was the good time of winter, when I wasn't quite sick of the snow yet. It was still beautiful and magical to me. And I had conjured a few small jars of floating flame to keep us comfortably warm. He smiled at me.

"You look so happy eating those mashed potatoes," he said, starting to laugh. He was definitely making fun of me. There was no doubt in my mind.

"Gee thanks," I said, poking him in the arm.

"Mashed potatoes are… amazing," I said.

"Do you like gravy on them?" he asked. He seemed worried he'd forgotten something.

"If I liked gravy on them, I would've told you," I said. "Just salt and butter."

"Good," he said. "Besides, that is the best way."

"I like gravy on pot roast," I said thoughtfully. "Man do I wish my birthday was two days long… then I could have pot roast tomorrow night…"

He laughed. "Pot roast with mashed potatoes?" he wondered.

"Of course," I said, laughing. "And… cauliflower with garlic and butter."

"How are you not fat?" he demanded, squeezing my middle, as if trying to detect a magical corset that kept my actual pot belly tucked away. Too bad he'd seen me naked and knew that such a corset didn't actually exist.

"I have a high metabolism. And I'm an athlete," I pointed out.

"Ah right," he said. "I didn't know you called what you do on the Quidditch pitch athletics."

I slapped his shoulder, too blissful with my fried chicken to really be insulted.

He chuckled darkly to himself and returned to his own chicken, ripping a piece off and putting it in his mouth.

"those elves really are amazing, diverse, and wonderful cooks," I declared, swirling a volcano of butter around in my potatoes.

"That, however," he said, pointing to my volcano, "looks mildly revolting."

"What's wrong with a little butter?" I demanded.

"I can hear your poor arteries screaming at those words," he said morosely. "That is not _a little _butter. That is a… flood."

"_That," _I said. "Is an _art."_

"If you say so," he said, poking his fork at it and turning my butter volcano into a waterfall. I pouted at him.

"Don't give me that look," he said, reaching up to pinch my lower lip in between his thumb and forefinger. "You're like a child."

He bent in then, to replace his fingers with his lips, sucking on my lower lip, starting to kiss me passionately.

"You're distracting me from me dinner," I informed him as he kissed my nose and forehead.

"You like it though," he pointed out.

"That is true," I said, laughing.

"I thought it was," he said. "Finish your dinner, Rose. I told the guys to keep my dorm open tonight, so it's just the two of us."

"I like the sound of that," I said thoughtfully, reaching up to touch his cheek gently.

"Well finish your food, and we'll get there sooner," he said.

"Well actually, I'm having a relationship with this chicken right now," I said. "I think I'll enjoy it."

"I'm jealous," he said, rolling his eyes.

"You should be," I informed him.

_Next Chapter: Well I've been building up to the next chapter for all of Rose's Birthday at this point... (meaning it's rated M). _


	32. Chapter 32

_**A/N... In the words of pinkdude64, BIRTHDAY SEX! **_

Chapter 32

Scorpius:

It was sad when you spent enough time with your girlfriend that she knew the password to your common room. Rose led the way down the corridor, and down the small flight of steps after the brick wall, into the pit common room. She waved gently at Eric and Rachel, who were playing chess—and she was showing no mercy to him, of course, and usually I would go over there and whisper moves into Eric's ears so he didn't lose to her too badly. But I was somewhat distracted. By lithe and beautiful ginger haired girl in front of me.

We headed down the dark hall together, and she pushed open the door ahead me, almost letting it close on me, but choosing to be somewhat nice for once. She turned to look at me as soon as the door was closed behind us, sealed and locked with a couple of quick spells on my part.

"This better be good," she said, her tone almost threatening. The look of defiant tyranny on her face was enough to turn me on.

"I promised, didn't I?" I said, taking her hand and gently drawing her over to the bed.

"I suppose you did," she said, spontaneously grabbing the crotch of my pants. I raised my eyebrows, so shocked I almost jumped.

"You're a bitch today," I informed her, pushing her onto her back and leaning over the top of her. I started to kiss her neck. She leaned up on an elbow to get a good enough force to push me back away from her. She wrapped her arms around my neck.

"I like being a bitch," she said, knocking me onto my back so that she was on top of me, straddling me at this point.

"Damn," I said, shocked at how quickly she made me beyond horny at this point. I was hard just at the sound of her voice, the feel of her hands through my hair. Her tongue brushed against my neck and I pulled her flat against my chest, tugging up the bottom of her t-shirt, exposing the pale skin of her taught stomach. She lifted her arms so that I could pull of the t-shirt, leaving her in just her plain black bra, sitting on top of me. Her hair was in wild disarray, tendrils of fire curls spilling in a wildly beautiful way, down over her shoulders, bright against her creamy flesh. She was a siren, luring me to my death on the rocks. She would bash me into pieces at first chance.

I rolled again, so that I was on top of her. Now I had easy access to the soft skin, and I began to explore it with my hands and lips. She shivered as I kissed down her stomach, then made an entire sweep with a smattering of kisses until my lips were at her ear. There, I kissed her, sucking on her earlobe, pinching it between my teeth. Her entire body tensed beneath me, and she plunged her hands under my shirt. That came off quickly and she fastened her lips to my skin.

"You're beautiful," I whispered against her skin, noting, satisfactorily, the rise of goosebumps where my breath tickled her. Her fingers slid over my skin, gentle, not sure what they were looking for, but certainly finding it—or at least I hoped.

"Thank you," she replied gently, her voice merely a whimper. She was relaxed, but I could tell very anxious. It was nice to know that she was just as horny for me as I was for her.

I ran my hands over her shoulders, content with the slow pace, while at the same time, desperate for closer, more exhilarating contact. After all, I had promised her the best sex I could manage. And that meant, of course, that this was all about her. For the first time it was easy to put my own pleasures somewhat to the side, to focus on her. But still, we were taking it slow, savoring every touch. I was impatiently patient.

She was panting, looking up at me with her massive sea eyes, which said a million unintelligible things at once. Her hands wandered at the waistband of my jeans, pulling me closer. I undid her bra, not even focusing on her lower half yet. I was now in between her legs and she had them firmly wrapped around me, broom riding muscles taught and beautiful, slender, yet strong.

"Top or bottom?" I asked her gently as I ran my lips across one of her bare breasts. She closed her eyes dazedly.

"You pick," she said.

"No," I said. "You choose, birthday girl."

"Um… bottom," she said. She told me not long ago that she honestly didn't have preference. That was good with me. I didn't either. Match made in heaven.

"Bottom it is," I said, sucking at one of her nipples. Her muscles tensed, and then relaxed quickly, with a sharp intake of breath on her part.

I slid my hands down her sides, kissing across her skin. I unbuttoned her jeans with one hand and started to slid them down off of her slim hips, sliding out from in between her legs in order to do so. Once they were off, I started to kiss down over her hips, starting down her thighs the sensitive skin on the inside. I slid one hand up in between her thighs, and she moaned gently as I touched her through her panties. She was wet. I liked to know I turned her on.

I reached up and pulled those down, sliding them off of her ankles. She took me by the arm, pulling me up so that she could unbutton my jeans. She seemed so intent in taking them off, pulling them down. As if she hadn't felt it before, my erection was now much more prominent, quite obvious. She began to pull my boxers off, but I moved my hand back between her legs, distracting her. She moaned.

I pushed one finger quickly inside of her. If I'd learned anything in the time I'd been with her, it was that she liked to be fingered before I shagged her. I brushed my thumb over her clit as I moved my finger in and out of her. I slid in another finger, causing her to whimper, then let out a gentle moan.

I had a specific goal for her birthday and every intention of achieving it.

I pulled myself up so that I was in between her legs completely. I drew her legs around me, finally, slipping the rest of the way out of my boxers. Bending my head, I kissed her collarbone, sliding my hands down her side, to hold her around her waist while I kissed her. She relaxed gently, and I pushed my way inside of her, moaning from the heat and friction, the noise of the gasp that emitted from her mouth.

"Damn it…" she said, groaning.

I pulled out almost all of the way, and then pushed back in, listening intently to the noises of response that fell from her lips. She reached up and knotted her fingers in my hair, almost too tightly, in a good way. I reached up and grabbed her bony wrists in one of my hands, pinning them up above her head. She glared at me, but I could tell she was still enjoying herself.

My goal was to have her come twice before I did. I'd never actually attempted such a goal before, but then, I was usually focused completely on myself in the past. Sure, I personally got off on being able to make a girl orgasm, but I'd never completely focused on it. I really just wanted Rose to enjoy herself—I didn't care if I came at all, actually, even though I already knew I was going to. I just had to time out when.

I reached down and touched her clit again, and she moaned.

"Scorpius," she said.

"Yeah?" I said, pressing my forehead against hers as I continued to move against her, feeling her hips thrust against me as I did so.

"Oh…" she said, wriggling to get her hands free from mine. I sucked on her jaw, licking the sweat that started to bead up on her shoulders and neck. I kissed and bit the skin on her neck, knowing I would leave a bright red reminder of this moment. I'd already left several.

It didn't take very long for her to come. I was, if I did say so myself, getting pretty good at this. I knew exactly how to do it to make her feel good.

"Scorpius!" she said, shouting my name several times. Just watching her face, and hearing the blissful tones of her desperate voice saying my name, my name on those beautiful lips, it made it very hard for me not to give in there. But I gritted my teeth and kept going, causing her eyes to widen hugely as I picked up my face.

"Oh… god," she said, breaking her hands out of my hold, which was loosened at this point.

I pushed further inside of her, not even sure that that was possible at this point. She moaned loudly accented by a high pitched noise that I would've sworn was pain if I didn't know any better. I'd never wanted her more blissful, more happy.

When she came again, what felt like moments later, but could've very well been a lifetime, I couldn't help myself. I came inside of her, riding the waves of bliss with her, letting her name fall out of my mouth too. She slid her hands into my hair, pulling at the gentle locks.

She pulled me closer to her, and I collapsed on her chest, sweat on my forehead, face pressed against her warm, damp, soft skin.

"Oh my god…" she said. "That was…"

And then she started laughing. I joined in with her, hesitant at first, though after a moment, I realized that it was definitely a good thing that she was laughing.

"You enjoyed yourself?" I wondered.

She stretched her neck and started to kiss me again, wrapping her arms around my neck.

"Thank you," she said.

"Happy birthday," I said.

"That was amazing," she said.

I looked at her, meeting her beautiful blue-green gaze. She smiled brightly.

"I love you," I said finally.

She froze.

"What?"

Next chapter: "_Dear Mum, I mean everything I write in this letter with the utmost repsect. Are you daft?"_


	33. Chapter 33

**_A/N: Let me begin by saying don't hate me. And then let me say please don't accuse me of having an OOC Hermione later in this chapter. Bear with me, I promise there is a logical explanation to her actions. I PROMISE! Oh and guess who found out she numbered things wrong... I have two chapter 33s, this could get tricky... _**

Chapter 33

Rose:

I stared at him, speechless.

"What?" I said.

"Um…" he said back.

"No, really," I said, sliding away from him.

He seemed to think for a moment. "I actually didn't know that until I said it. I suppose we say what we really think when we're not thinking…"

"I… er… don't know what to say," I stammered.

"You could say it back," he suggested, looking at me innocently, hopefully. He was morphing. He was no longer the Scorpius Malfoy I recognized. He was different, vulnerable, and at his weakest.

"Er…" I said ineloquently.

He met my gaze. "You don't feel the same?"

"Scorp… I… well…" I said, struggling desperately. "I really like you… but."

"But," he echoed finally. His gaze turned to sharp ice, and before I knew it, he was on his feet, across the room. He slammed the bathroom door behind him. I sighed, collapsing backwards. I didn't think he was too terribly hurt, but more… well annoyed at himself.

I wondered if it was really true. Did he really love me? What a wonderful question. I couldn't believe it if it was true. I wasn't old enough to love, really. Not with veracity. I enjoyed him. He was sweet, and charming, and nice, and everything a romantic novel portrayed the dream man, the knight in shining armor to be—with a side of cheek and competition. He was, I realized, _my _knight in shining armor. And I recognized that. But. I didn't love him.

But.

I didn't want to lead him on in that sense. I didn't expect him to be a girl about it. He wasn't going to be devastated, dramatic, and break up with me because I just couldn't reciprocate his intense and irrational feelings. Or at least say it. I wondered if he really believed that he loved me.

Suddenly I was worried. What if my parents were right? About the whole Malfoy thing? There was always a chance that he was just a slimy arsehole.

And that was sort of what held me back, I realized. I just wasn't sure.

I didn't know how that could be since I'd met his family and they were seriously the nicest people I'd ever met. There was nothing wrong about the Malfoys. Even their dark and creepy from the outside house was warm and inviting, completely normal and nice.

To me they weren't, nor had they ever been, Death Eaters.

I sighed, getting out of the bed and plodding across the floor. I knocked on the door of the bathroom, starting to shiver in the cold.

"Scorpius?" I said.

"Yes?" he replied, his voice cordial.

"Are you mad?" I wondered.

"Of course not," he said. "I had to piss."

"Oh," I said, still unsure. "Can I wear one of your t-shirts."

"Sure," he said.

I went over to his bed, digging into the storage under the bed for one of his t-shirts, which I enlarged and put on, getting comfortable and warm.

He came back out, pulling on boxers, and sliding into the bed next to me.

"Are you mad?" I asked again.

He wrapped his arms around me, resting his chin on my shoulder. He looked up at me.

"I'm not mad, Rose, calm down," he said.

"I'm sorry," I said, linking my fingers in his.

"Shut up," he said, kissing my neck.

Translation: he was mad.

-CD-

Rose:

_Dear Rose,_

_How was your birthday, sweetheart? We hope it was wonderful, as usual, and we're sure that, as it was a Saturday you were either practicing Quidditch, or you and your friends were up to some no good partying. Your father and I just wanted to touch base with you to see how things are going at school._

_Are your classes going well? I know that probably sounds like a silly question. You've had a breeze of a time in all of your classes since you dropped divination (a dumb subject if you ask me. You cannot See if you aren't a Seer. Though Trelawney never really seemed to grasp that marvelous concept. Like mother like daughter, though, for you and I, I suppose). _

_I hope everything is well in terms of the threats. After that letter from Professor McGonagall about the snake, we have been quite worried. We do hope that Mr. Malfoy has recovered from his injuries. _

_Bringing up the subject of the Malfoy boy, are you still seeing him? Knowing your tenacity, I would not doubt that the answer is yes. As much as I wish you the best in all of your relationships, dear, I truly feel that as your mother, I ought to offer my words of caution._

_You've told me before that my letters to you sound more like an essay. I'm trying to be a little less… verbose, I suppose, or at least make it more like a conversation. So I hope that comes off in what I'm about to say:_

_I know Draco Malfoy. I went to school with him. We were never friends, and he never once referred to me as anything more than a mudblood. But I still know him. From the many brief, though confrontational, moments we were in each other's presence, I gathered that he is little more than an over-stuffed, over-rich, greased up slime ball of a Slytherin, bathing in money and using power in any form necessary to take control. The words were in the Sorting Hat's song one year while I was at school "while power-hungry Slytherin loved those of great ambition." Power-hungry and cunning are two best adjectives for a Slytherin, or at least Slytherins in my days of school. And the most notable Slytherin in my day was Draco Malfoy. _

_And thus, I believe, that his son carries on the legacy. You cannot have a father like that and not bear the same traits, or possess the same frame of mind. Did you ever stop to think about why Malfoy might be associating with you Rosie? Think of who your family is. We all have a fairly high standing in the ministry, and you are the brightest witch in your class. Why wouldn't he want to associate with you?_

_Please be careful Rose. I don't want you hurt. I don't think you are looking at this as carefully as you should be._

_Much Love,_

_Mum_

_Dear Mum,_

_Everything I write in this letter is meant with the utmost respect._

_Are you daft? _

_Dad always goes on and on proudly about how you were the brightest witch of you age, and so on and so forth. I've always looked up to you for your intelligence and cleverness. But now… I'm actually appalled. I would like to say that I no longer take pride in saying my brains and intelligence come from you._

_Do you know why Mother? Because you say you know someone when you've never even had a conversation with them. That would be like me saying I know Aidan Powell. He's a sixth year, who is in Hufflepuff. He's a fan of photography and often seems a little pompous at our Quidditch matches when he takes pictures. I think he's slightly pushy and a tad arrogant. But I don't know him. He could, for all I know, be the nicest person to ever have walked this planet. The reason that he takes so many pictures is because his older brother who died in a muggle train accident, loved Quidditch and photography, but he's pushy because he always lived in his brother's shadow when he was alive, and he had to fight for attention. _

_Did you know that that is a true story? When I was in fifth year, I nearly hexed Aidan's fingers together because he wouldn't stop taking pictures of the Ravenclaw team after we ground them into the dirt during the cup. Roxanne took me aside and told me his story and I felt horrible afterwards. _

_What I'm saying is, you ought to get to know Malfoy better. If you had a real conversation with him you could then claim you know him._

_Even then, you cannot pass judgment on Scorpius. He is not his father, just as I am not you and Albus is not Uncle Harry. We choose our own fate, follow our own path, and regret the actions and decisions of our parents just as much as we bask in them. So do not pass judgment on Scorpius. He is perhaps the nicest, sweetest person I know, and if you would give him a moment to open his mouth before Dad starts hexing him, then you would actually know that._

_He told me he loves me. And I think he means it. But I didn't say it back. I didn't say it back because of you. You have me doubting. Is it the right choice? He is a Malfoy after all. And Malfoys are no good. He's cunning and power-hungry and probably a sly liar. Thank you mother, for putting ideas in my head. For making me thin things that aren't true. Thank you._

_Love (I still do love you)_

_Rose _

I attached my reply to Persephone (my new owl, named Wiggy was too light to carry it at this stage in his life). I sent her off into the sky, sighing gently to myself as she disappeared, blending with the clouds that coated the sky with a feathery layer of cotton.

Scorpius had been distant. As much as he wasn't the sort to take much offense to my worthless reply, he was being grumpy. He didn't like, I determined as I dissected his psyche, that I had left him in the vulnerable position. It was nice to be loved, I decided, but I didn't want to feel bad about it. Which I did.

I avoided owl droppings and ducked out of the owlery, heading down the flights of stairs with my hands in the pockets of my robes. I didn't know what I was going to do with him. I would have to figure something out.

A jet of light shot out from somewhere, narrowly missing my body. I whirled on the spot, instantly drawing my wand to confront whoever shot it at me.

"No spells in the hallways," I reminded gently, looking into the shadows, around the bed in the tower. Another jet appeared, flashing light through the dim light of the narrow and winding staircase. I deflected it with my wand easily.

"Honestly?" I said. "Who's just shooting spells? Are you insane? If I fell down this flight of stairs, I'd probably crack my head open. And you're awfully daft, hexing me. I'm the most talented student in this school…"

I heard a bunch of footsteps, disappearing away from me just as I rounded the next bend. I came out in a main corridor of the school, finding it more brightly lit. I looked in either direction, finding the hall to be deserted. I just clasped a wand in my hand. Daft underlcassmen, really. The only people that could get away with hallway duels were Scorpius and me, because teachers and students alike enjoyed watching what we would come up with to do to each other.

I smiled gently to myself, heading down to dinner with the rest of the school. The smells of roast chicken and scalloped potatoes, or maybe Yorkshire pudding, and carrots, or steamed cauliflower and pork chops… I quickened my pace. Maybe if I got there quickly enough I could have some of everything.

_Next Chapter: "Either you want to be with me or you don't. Either you love me or you don't. You can't have it both ways." _


	34. Chapter 34

**_A/N: So that letter sounded very much NOT like Hermione._**

**_Disclaimer: Apart from the usual babble about how I do not own Harry Potter (I'm sure that was in desperate need of being cleared up) I would also like to say thanks to the wonderful, late William Shakespeare, for the use of lines from _Romeo and Juliet, _Act II, Scene ii, lines 33-49. _**

Chapter 34:

Scorp:

"Shut up all of you!" I shouted, floating high above them on my broom. "This is Quidditch for Merlin's sake. And you're acting like a bunch of sissy girls."

"I am a girl," Rachel pointed out. "And I find that last phrase offensive."

"Shut up to you two," I said. "Look. It's cold. I get it. But cast a warming charm in your boots, and in your gloves and robes, and get over it. It's January of course it's bloody cold. That doesn't mean we're going to stop practicing. Do you realize that the Gryffindor team, complete with their new beater, Ella Thomas, has been out here every other day training? And we still aren't as good as they were in the first match of the year. If we're getting anywhere, we need to step up to work, spend less time complaining about cold and more time moving, getting warm, and getting better.

"We need to make it so that Rose Weasley cannot make it to the Quidditch cup," I said.

"it's not Rose Weasley," Rachel said, speaking for the rest of the team. "it's Gryffindor. _Gryffindor. _They're not a one person team, Scorp. Whatever your recent problems with your girlfriend are, no one really wants to put up with them."

I glared at them all. "Run the drill again."

I shot upwards to watch them play, already having caught the snitch three times in this practice. It was flitting around here somewhere, and I would find it before the end of the practice.

I watched them play and nearly ripped my hair out. They were the best of the trials, and yet in my multitudes of time spent watching the Gryffindor team practice secretly from afar with omnioculars, I realized that we would probably never be at that level. The pace at which they moved in perfect coordination, predicting, mirroring, or receiving each other's moves… it reminded me of professional teams. Even with a new member added to the team—who was just as good, if not better than Mike Finnigan—they still moved perfectly and readily. It drove me insane.

I wondered if it was Rose's doing and whether or not that made me an inferior captain. Or maybe my team just really wasn't up to the usual standards of the Slytherin team. As much as Gryffindor had held onto the cup since our second year, the Slytherin team usually came in close. We took it in my first year, when I was still a spectator. But since then, it rested in Professor Longbottom's office, and I was told he took it just as proudly as the House Cup which had been passed between our houses since my first year, sometimes with one house holding onto it for two years instead of just one.

I wanted both cups this year. I wanted to take that ultimate monopoly over Rose Weasley. Right now, I was furious with myself. I'd left myself in a weak position. As much as it bothered me that she hadn't said it back, I was more bothered by the fact that I let my guard down with her. She now had power over me. And that, in itself, drove me crazy.

It's not as if I actually wanted to love ginger. Or a Weasley. I didn't ask for these things. I didn't stay up at night, going "give me a Weasley." If I'd known what it was going to get me (i.e. stubborn, pernicious, evil, beauty, siren, temptress, snake, high and mighty, incapable of forming relationships, _Rose). _

And yet I couldn't tear myself away from her. At the moment, that was all I wanted to do. So as much as her presence was vital to me, for some inexplicable reason, I was able to give her the cold shoulder easily. I gave her ice glares as much as I could and was more hesitant when we were just kissing than I used to be. I wanted her to have to work for affection at this point. I didn't know how else to get a leg up on her.

"PAUL!" I said, watching as another quaffle soared through the hoops. "Damn it, I'll bloody keep and seek at the same time."

-CD-

Rose:

_Dear Rose,_

_I'm very amused to tell you that that last letter was written by your father. He used a muggle thesaurus and transformed his writing afterward to mirror mine. He did a good job, I suppose. Hope all is well!_

_Love._

_Mum_

_PS. Dear, if you're going to put the words "I mean this with respect" in your letter, you ought to say respectful things. Your father didn't take too kindly to you calling him daft. _

I rolled my eyes. Damn family. Of course my father would do that. Why? Because he was Ron bloody Weasley.

And I also noted how my mother didn't disagree with him.

But honestly, I had bigger problems on my hands, aside from my dysfunctional and judgmental family. Like the fact that my boyfriend was perhaps the biggest prat to ever walk this earth.

And so I confronted him.

"Look," I said, cornering him in a vacant old classroom one afternoon post Defense Against the Dark Arts. I fixed him with my evil cold look.

"Look what?" he demanded.

"Just because you can't handle the fact that I am emotionally inept, screwed up, and confused…. Well you don't need to be the biggest arsehole about it. Either you want to be with me or you don't. Either you love me or you don't. You can't have it both ways. I'm sorry that I can't say it yet, I'm sorry! But wouldn't you rather I wait until it was real, until I was sure about, instead of saying it just because. So you pick, Malfoy. Do you want to be with me or not?"

He looked at me carefully, arms crossed in front of his chest. His robe was stuffed into his bag, and the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbows, showing me his attractive muscles.

"Rose…" he said.

"My deranged family is starting to make sense," I said, glaring at him. "Maybe you are just a Malfoy… a prat, of a Malfoy, an arsehole,.. My dad was right."

"Rose…' he said. "Calm down, will you?"

"I don't like being wrong!" I said.

"You're not wrong!" he said. "I'm a good guy."

"You're not giving me a chance," I said. "I just can't…"

"Rose," he said, walking across the room and taking both of my hands. "Okay. Okay, calm? I love you. I want to be with you. But I want you to love me too. To want to be with me too. I can wait. I want it to be real for you. Because it's real for me…"

"This is real for me," I told him. "I'm not messing with you. I want to be with you so much, Scorpius. I just don't want to tell you I love you prematurely. I'm just eighteen after all."

"And I'm just seventeen," he pointed out.

"Yes. Be patient," I told him, stepping closer to him. He put his hands on my waist, leaning his forehead against mine.

"Patience," he said. "I suppose I can try."

"Do your best," I said, reaching up to run my hands through his hair. He drew me in closer, pressing his lips to mine.

"I'm not an arse. Or a prat. Or a prick. I'm a Malfoy, yes…"

"But that means nothing," I pointed out.

"Really?" I said. "Well it means everything to me."

-CD-

_Dear Mother,_

_Please tell Dad to stop meddling in my life. I have everything under control._

_Love Rose._

-CD-

Rose:

"'What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,'" I said to the ceiling.

"'What's Malfoy? It is nor hand nor foot, nor arm, nor face, nor any other part belonging to a man,'" Albus contributed. For wizards we did know our muggle literature.

"And yet it weighs so heavily!" I complained, flipping onto my stomach on the sofa. Albus remained in his seat on the floor, looking up at me as I buried my face dramatically in old worn velvet. I kicked my feet obnoxiously, having my version of a tantrum.

"Romeo and Juliet got over it," Albus pointed out, picking at the fraying rug underneath him.

"Romeo and Juliet died," I said. "Did you read the end of it in Muggle Studies?"

"True," he said, "I did actually finish it. It was all right."

"Yeah. Well they died," I said. "Both of them by suicide. Because their families couldn't get over their issues. And Romeo killed Juliet's cousin, Tybalt. So… in this equation, if Scorpius is Romeo, and I'm Juliet… you would be Tybalt. So I actually wouldn't encourage this, Albus."

"Scorpius, Scorpius, wherefore art thou Scorpius?" ALbus said, continuing to mock me.

"I don't find this funny," I said.

"Well I don't think you have to view it as a death or apart situation," he said. "Because honestly, for one thing, Romeo was a slightly bipolar impulsive prat who jumped from woman to woman like it was his job, and therefore would've died of some sort of sexually transmitted disease before long anyway… and Juliet was a naïve and immature little girl who was just happy someone called her pretty to begin with, and therefore swooned at the sight of him. And then they got married. Which was just plain old intelligent. And they did this without their parents' knowledge… and then that afternoon, he kills her cousin and then he's surprised when he's exiled… I mean… really?

"So what I'm saying is, Scorpius is not a bipolar and impulsive Romeo, and you are not a naïve child. You would never just get married, and Scorpius would, I'm thinking, never kill me. Even if I did kill his best friend… because honestly, I would never kill Eric, so Scorpius would never have reason to kill me… so then he wouldn't be exiled, and neither of you would have to kill yourselves because of a plan together gone wrong because of a monk who was quarantined by the plague."

"Right…' I said, turning my head to look down at him. "So how do you suppose I figure this out?"

"Why are you asking me?" he said. "I've never been in this situation. Eric's parents actually like me. And they like my mum and dad."

"Well thanks for all that then," I said, rolling my eyes. "You're helpful."

"For being a very intelligent person, Rose," he said. "You seem to have a lot of trouble solving your own problems. I think this is up to you, okay? Get on with it. Be intelligent. Figure it out."

"Right…" I said. "I don't…"

"Stop dwelling on it, start acting on it," he said.

"You could be a muggle motivational speaker if the auror thing doesn't work out," I told him.

"I don't think so," he said, shaking his head. "You're… no."

"So enough about me. How is Eric?"

"Oh Merlin, Rose," he said.

'What, I can't ask about your life?" I wondered.

"Well we _were _focusing on your problems," he said.

"But my problems are boring and I'm sick of being self-involved," I said.

"Okay. Eric and I are fine," he said.

"Fine?" I repeated.

"Pretty damn good," he said, turning bright pink.

"Thought so," I said. "Well at least things are simple-ish for one of us."

"It is a lot easier than I thought it would be…" he said. 'Most people at Hogwarts are pretty… good about it."

I never told him why I kicked Mike off the team. I just told him it was for some reason that would remain between Mike and me, and that was that. There was nothing else that anyone else needed to know about it. I never even told Scorpius.

I smiled at Al.

"See?" I said. "That's good."

_Next Chapter: "What does it matter? It's what I'd expect from a Slytherin. From a _Malfoy."


	35. Chapter 35

**_A/N: So after you read this chapter remember that you still love me and that I updated twice today and that has to count for something. _**

Chapter 35:

Scorpius:

"What's up, Mr. Malfoy?" Rachel wondered, making more room on the couch for me.

"Nothing," I said, sitting next to her.

"Nothing doesn't wear a face like that," she pointed out, closing her thick book and turning to look at me. She tucked her hair behind her ears, giving me her usual Rachel look. She knew me well.

"It's just Rose," I said, throwing my hands up in the air. "Women… can't live with them…"  
"but the entire human race would die out without us," she said, shaking her head. "Yes. We make your lives simply miserable, don't we?"

"We'd figure out how to repopulate the world without you if we didn't like sex so much," I informed her.

"I suppose that _is _true," she said. "So what is wrong with the charming Miss Weasley?"

"Long story," I said.

"Okay," she said. "Let me guess… you told her you love her and she didn't say it back."

"What?" I said. "How did you _know _that?"

"Well, Eric told me, and Albus told him, and Albus heard from Rose," she said.

"Gay guys are such gossips," I complained.

"Yes they are," she agreed. "I don't know how we didn't see it."

"Me either," I said.

"Look," she said. "What's so bad about Rose not loving you?"

"Because it makes me feel like trash," I said.

"do you realize that the role is usually reversed? The girl usually is the one in your position. In fact, the guy tends to like it if the girl doesn't get emotionally attached," she said. "Especially like in those relationships where it's mostly about sex."

"Well this stopped being about sex a long time ago," I informed her.

"I realize that," she said. "But I'm just saying. It's usually the girl.'

"Are you calling me a girl?" I demanded.

"No," she said. "I'm just saying."

"Right…" I said.

"But what's so bad about it, really?" she wondered.

"Nothing, I guess," I said. "Except… well I think the reason she can't say it is because of her family not liking me all that much. She's unsure, as much as she is sure. And it's all because I'm a bloody Malfoy, of course.'

"So…" she said. "It bothers you, because you're more worried that she can't see past your name, not that she doesn't love you."

"Exactly,' I said.

"Oh," she said. "Well that's completely different."

"Okay then…" I said.

"I can see that being annoying," she said. "I can see how you're upset. Have you told her this?"

"Not in so many words," I said.

'Well…" she said. "See, sometimes girls are a lot more like guys than you think. Sometimes we need so many words."

"Okay," I said.

"So tell her that," she said. "Life is easier if you communicate."

She looked down at her knees for a moment.

"Hey…" I said, catching up quickly. "What's up with you lately? You and Lorcan, I mean?"

"Oh," she said. "Nothing, really."

"Rachel?" I said.

"It's not going to happen," she said. "I asked him about Hogsmeade, once ,maybe, if he wanted, and when he looked at me, I said as friends of course, and he smiled at me, and then he asked out Scarlet Hawthorne. And now I have to go to Hogsmeade with him as friends… while he's dating another girl. Talk about a lack of communication"

"Sorry, Rach," I said, putting an arm around her.

"Life was so much easier when you and I were just shagging for fun," she said.

"I agree," I said.

She smiled at me, and looked up. "I miss that."

"Sometimes I do too," I admitted. "Not caring so much…"

She stretched her head and started to kiss me.

I reacted quickly, pushing her away.

"What-?" I said, sliding away from her quickly. "What are you doing, Rachel?"

"Scorpius?" I turned at the sound of the painfully familiar voice.

Rose was standing in the common room, in her uniform, sans robe, staring at us.

"Rose… this isn't… this is not what it looks like Rose!" I said.

She clenched her hand. I realized that she was going for her wand, and trying to keep herself from doing that.

"It's okay," she said. "What does it matter? It's what I'd expect from a Slytherin. From a _Malfoy."_

She turned around and stomped out of the common room. I shoved away from Rachel, moving to run after.

"Thanks so much, Rachel!" I said, following Rose into the corridor. Storming through the hallway, she turned quickly around to stare at me.

"I wouldn't follow me, Malfoy, I will hex you until you start crying," she said. Her wand, in her hand, was proof that she was ready to hex me until I was no longer a man.

"Rose!" I said. "Rose, she kissed me, honestly, I didn't kiss her back… Rose, please believe me."

"Merlin, Malfoy, can't you just listen to me for once?" she said. She shot a hex from her wand, a stinging jinx that collided with my forearm painfully.

"Rose…" I said. "I love you, Rose."

"Shut up!" she said, angry tears starting to build in the corners of her eyes. "What are you _playing _at? What do you think… do you think you can hurt me? Just because I told you I don't love you? Damn it, Scorpius, I came to tell you that I'm sorry, sorry I couldn't say it. Because I do love you, and I'm not going to let my stupid family get in the way of that… Damn you! Damn you to the fieriest circle of hell where you belong, because now I have to admit to my parents that they were _right. _You're nothing but a sneaking Slytherin!"

"Rose," I said. "I didn't…"

She shot another spell at me, this time gluing my tongue to the roof of my mouth.

"Please, just don't even talk," she growled. I waved my wand to unglue my tongue.

"Rose…" I said. "Please."

"Stop talking," she growled, waving her wand again. Her spell hit me like someone swung a load of bricks at my chest. I gasped, the wind forced out of me; I doubled over, short of air. I didn't even recognize the spell.

"You can just leave me alone now," she said. She shot another spell at me, and I gave up being weak and defended myself. She was being irrational. I deflected the curse and attempted to disarm her. She blocked my spell again, glaring at me.

"Don't even bother talking to me again," she said, shooting one last spell.

The stunner hit me in the chest before I could even raise my wand in defense.

-CD-

Scorpius:

"Um… Scorp?" Eric's voice asked, sounding a bit distant. I blinked quickly, sitting upright.

"What?" I said, looking around. I was in the dungeons still, lying on the cold floor, and Rose was long gone.

"Rachel told me to come out here after she said you didn't come back…" he said. "Something about you kissing Rachel and then Rose seeing? What are you doing?"

"I didn't kiss Rachel!" I said quickly, springing to my feet. "Rachel kissed me! And Rose saw…"

"What are you thinking?" he demanded as I started up toward the entrance hall.

"I wasn't doing anything. I was just thinking about how girls like to make life hard, and Rachel was tryig to give me some advice… and then I asked her how things with Lorcan were going, and she got all mopey, and then she tried to kiss me! I don't even know what I did…"

"Good luck explaining all of that to Rose," he said.

"Thank you for your support," I said. "I'm going to the Gryffindor common room. You're welcome to join me."

"I think I will," he said. "I'll calm Albus down when he finds out that you upset Rose."

I rolled my eyes, as we took a secret passage up to the floor where the common room was. I spat the password, and the Fat Lady let me through, followed by Eric. I landing on my feet in the common room.

"Malfoy!" I heard, before I had even taken one breath of Gryffindor air.

I turned to see Albus Potter standing quickly by the fire, his wand in his hand all of a sudden.

"Potter," I said.

"I have a bit of… bone to pick with you," Albus said, narrowing his green eyes. "Would you care to explain to me why my cousin came in here sobbing, unable to say anything but 'Malfoy is a cheating ferret' and has since refused to come down from her dormitory?"

"Rose won't listen to me!" I said. "I… I didn't… do anything. She thinks I did, but I didn't."

Albus twirled his wand around in his hand.

"I don't believe you either. I think Rose is a fairly astute person…" he said, glaring at me.

"Al…" Eric said, stepping forward. Albus's face softened. He hadn't noticed Eric before.

"Eric, do you believe him? Do you know what happened?" Albus asked Eric.

"I wasn't there," Eric said. "But I don't think Scorp would do something like that…"

Eric walked across the room, toward Albus, who met his gaze. Eric's approach made him at least lower his wand.

"So before you hex him, which you can do later if he really is a prick, let's wait a bit and get the rest of the story," Eric said. Albus nodded, stowing his wand away.

"Malfoy, if you truly did hurt her, even Eric won't be able to stand in my way to keep me from blowing you into little, tiny bits," he said.

"I'm going to talk to her," I said, moving toward the girls' stairs, getting my wand out to counter the spell that would turn it into a slide.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Albus said. "She's up there with Jess, and from what I gather, she was quite close to hexing your prick off earlier. So if you want to remain a man, I'd keep my feet off of those stairs. She's not going to wait around for an explanation. She and Jess will get you as soon as you walk through that door."

I groaned loudly, throwing my arms down in frustration.

'Dam women," I said. "You're so lucky, you two. Right now I want to be gay."

Eric started laughing at me. "That's something I thought I would never hear."

"Well at least I understand guys…" I grumbled. "Unlike women… they're just… too complicated and hormonal…"

"If you think I actually understand Eric, you're wrong," Albus informed me, causing Eric to punch him in the shoulder, painfully.

"Like that for instance," Albus continued. "I think he thinks that's… affectionate… but in fact, it's really annoying."

Eric frowned for a moment.

I sat down on the couch, grumbling to myself.

"I think this wouldn't be so complicated if Rose didn't actually love you, or if she wasn't a Weasley," Albus said. "But sadly, she does love you, and she is a Weasley."

"So she does love me?" I said. "Nice to know, at least."

"It's hard for Rose to say things like that," Albus said. 'She's basically a heartless and souless rock incapable of exhibiting emotion."

"I gathered that," I said. "She's sort of like me. We get along because we are self-centered and soulless."

"Exactly," Albus said.

"Great," I said. "So now I've made her never want to express or feel emotion again. Great. Wonderful. This is just perfect."

"Well she hates you with a passion right now," he said. "And hate is an emotion. So it's better than nothing, I suppose."

"Oh yes," I said. "Because I would much rather she hate me than to have her, but have her not love me."

"You're such a girl, Scorp," Eric said.

"Gee thanks," I said.

"You're welcome," he said promptly.

-CD-

**_A/N: Sooooo... anyone want to kill Rachel? Or me? Don't worry still seventeen more chapters. _**

_Next Chapter: "She is right. Always right. Even if she's wrong." _


	36. Chapter 36

_**A/N: You know, I think they're more fun when they argue. A big pair of drama queens. Enjoy!**_

Chapter 36:

Rose:

"If you keep glaring like that your face is going to freeze that way," Nina informed me roughly a week after I started attempting to avoid Scorpius.

"Didn't I tell you?" I said. "It's already frozen."

"You need psychological help," Lucy said wisely from across the breakfast table.

I just continued to stare at the Slytherin table. Glaring. Scorpius would occasionally look up at me, attempt to meet my gaze, and I wouldn't let him. I hadn't said a word to him or Rachel since the moment I saw them kissing. If I didn't look at them, I didn't feel very angry. If I didn't acknowledge their existence, I didn't want to rip them limb from limb. If I didn't remember his name, then I could continue to refrain from hyperventilating.

'What I need is a good fuck," I grumbled.

"Psychological help," Lily agreed.

"Morning Rose," someone said, walking by. A Hufflepuff in the year below, a guy I'd never really met before, with reddish blonde hair, kind of scrawny.

"Who is that?" I wondered, watching as the kid sat down at his table in between a few equally odd Hufflepuff pals.

"That's Phineas North," Lily said. "He's a sixth year."

"I knew what year he was in… but I've never met him," I said.

"Oh, he's kind of… eccentric," Lily said. "But he's a nice guy. His family got on the bad side of the Death Eaters during the war. I'm pretty sure he lost both sets of grandparents and an older brother who was barely a year old at the time. He never met him, obviously, but his family always took it really hard. I heard his mother had to go to Mungo's for depression and has been in and out since."

"Oh," I said. "Poor guy. Now I feel bad that I don't know him. Or never really tried."

"You can't know everyone, Rose," Jess pointed out.

'Still!" I said.

"Still nothing," Jess said. "I'll be Malfoy doesn't know him."

"What name are we not supposed to utter at this table?" I demanded.

"Oh come on Rose. Maybe you don't know everything. Albus hasn't hexed his nads off at this point, so maybe he has good reason for not doing so," Lily said.

"No, it's because Eric is Scorpius's best friend, and he probably stands in the way," I said, rolling my eyes.

I looked over at the Slytherin table, where my traitor of a best friend and cousin was sitting with Eric and Scorpius, as well as the harlot, Rachel.

"Quidditch coming up," I said, changing the subject happily. "Us versus Hufflepuff."

"Yes, exactly," Jess said. "We're going to steam-roll some Hufflepuff butt all over the place.'

"I can't wait," I said. "it will be very fun to seal our fate for the cup."

"We can't get too cocky," Lily pointed out. "It would be a bit embarrassing if we lost to Hufflepuff."

We probably sounded like Hufflepuff-bashers to anyone that walked by, but honestly, the team sucked this year. They just didn't get any particularly adept players. Unlike my team.

But first, to get to the match, we had to get through February. Through the worst month of the year—the month with Valentine's day, and the month with Scorpius's eighteenth birthday. I laughed now at the concept, of how he had wondered if I would give him the same treatment I got on my birthday. Well, we weren't together, so that was out the window.

I looked over at his table again, and he and Eric were laughing about something, and Rachel was getting up from the table, storming away and looking huffy. If had noted anything since our breakup of mass proportions, it was that Scorp and Rachel were _not _a couple. He, in fact, was not very nice to her.

Which was sort of arseholish of him, because she looked mildly depressed half the time.

Not that she wasn't a skanky twat or anything, but still.

"We have February to train. And then the first Saturday in March…" Jess said. I turned my gaze away from the Slytherin table, focusing back on my friends, on more important matters.

I looked at my watch, and grabbed my bag, picking it up to go to Herbology.

Ella, our new beater, caught quickly up with us as Jess and I left the hallway. She was, in no way, your typical beater. She was bony and rail thin, or at least, upon first sight. Despite her tininess, her arm muscles were more powerful than Fred's, and she could hit a bludger better than most people I'd seen in a while. I should have given her the position in the first place, but now that I had her for the majority of the season, it would be fine.

"I watching Ravenclaw practice yesterday," she said.

"You were spying?" I said, pretending to be appalled even though I spent most of my evenings, if I was done with homework, and not practicing myself for Quidditch, watching the rival teams practice with each other.

"Of course," she said. "Most people aren't gathering that I'm your new beater… despite the fact that Mike Finnigan went on a rampage like an angry hippogriff when you kicked him off the team for 'unjust reasons' that he didn't feel like explaining to anyone, apparently."

"See, I thought I was going to get hell from Longbottom, for it, but then I realized that I'm Longbottom's favorite student and he would let me run his house's team however I damn well pleased…" I mumbled.

"Yes," she said. "Well… then my boyfriend is on the Ravenclaw team as a chaser, and he is apparently thicker than I thought. It took him half of his practice to realize that I was spying on them, not just watching him play."

I laughed. "So how was the team? Are they any good?"

"They're going to flatten Slytherin," she said. "But I don't personally think they're any better than we are.'

"Well good. At least there will be a bit of a game on our hands. They rolled Hufflepuff into the dirt, didn't they?"

"Yes,' she said. "And we're Hufflepuff's last hope for the cup, but it's not going to happen. The Slytherin-Hufflepuff match will be a match for last place, probably."

"This should be interesting,' I said. "At this point, anyone could still end up in the finals…"

"But it will probably be us and Ravenclaw," Ella said.

"And that means we better win," I said.

Scorpius:

"She's bothering me," I muttered under my breath as Albus, Eric and I followed Rose and Jess down to the greenhouses in the snow.

"Of course she's bothering you," Albus said. "She's been bothering you for almost two weeks at this point."

"She's being a stubborn and ignorant bitch," I snapped.

Eric rolled his eyes.

"She's still my best friend, Scorpius," Albus reminded him.

"Then _talk _to her, would you?" I said. "Don't you know at this point that Rachel kissed me, not the other way around?"  
"Did you not learn in your time with her that Rose, along with being soulless, is also perhaps the most stubborn person in the world? She is right. Always right. Even if she is wrong."

"I've known that since the first time I met her," I said. "Charms class. First class of first year."

"Then you need to be able to prove to her, without a doubt, that you are correct, for her to even begin to consider your side of the story," Albus said. "Especially when she feels wronged. Which she does, for obvious reasons."

I sighed heftily. "Right…"

"Rose is a lot of work," Albus informed me.

"More like a piece of work," I grumbled.

"That too," Albus said. "She is also the smartest person I have ever met. Which is sometimes bad for her."

"And for everyone else associated with her," I pointed out.

"Exactly," he said.

"We'll be right there," Eric said, grabbing Albus's wrist and pulling him in between Greenhouses Two and Three. I rolled my eyes. They were still not too public about their relationship, which was understandable, but sometimes annoying. They would just disappear so no one would see them getting cozy.

I followed Rose and her friends into the Greenhouse, taking my usual place in the back corner—Professor Longbottom liked me, but I wasn't his favorite. That was Rose. And Albus. Actually, I was pretty sure he just couldn't pick between the two of them.

The devil temptress herself was talking to her head of house, smiling all-so-politely and looking like the perfect angel I knew she wasn't. He gestured gently and she looked in my direction, shrugging. He said something more, and she shook her head, frowning and rolling her eyes. Professor Longbottom laughed and Rose then laughed too, earning herself a pat on the shoulder.

"You need to stop staring at her," Rachel said from behind me. "I'm thinking it's mildly unhealthy."

"Just shut up," I said. "It's your fault.'  
I was still so angry with her. I didn't even want to look at her face most of the time, actually. She just made me that angry.

She rolled her eyes. "Are you holding grudges again, Malfoy?"

"Yes," I snapped. "Didn't you hear? It's one of the many things we Slytherins do best."

"I don't hold grudges," she said, crossing her arms.

I looked at her and laughed. "Right. Because you've been so close with Bex Lang since your boyfriend liked her more than you in fourth year…"

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

Albus and Eric came in back, and Eric moved over to my station to work with Rachel and me, while Albus joined Rose and Jess up at the front.

"I hate Herbology," Eric complained, pulling on his dragon's hide gloves.

"If you all could listen up, please!" Professor Longbottom said loudly, tapping his wand on a terracotta pot. I turned to look at him apathetically. Whatever. I was just not in the mood today to think about plants. Magical or otherwise.

"Let's just… get through the day," I said.

"All right," Rachel said. 'I think we might be able to handle that."

We listened to Professor Longbottom's rambling teachings, and shoved our hands into dirt and fertilizer upon his command.

-CD-

Scorp:

"I wish I was allergic to dirt," Rachel said, pointing her wand at her fingernails, that, before class, had be en pristine and glimmer. Now, they were caked with black earth, which she was drawing out with her wand.

"That would be exceedingly inconvenient," I grumbled, wishing she would just walk with someone else and let me traipse along in peaceful, moping loneliness.

"I'm never going to have to touch dirt again once I become a healer," she said.

"You're such a girl," I said.

"I know," she informed me.

We had one more ever-painful class, this one being arithmancy. The Qudditch pitch beckoned in the distance, and honestly, if it wasn't freezing, or I wasn't Head Boy, I would've long since blown off the last class of the day and moved on to enjoy my afternoon. It wasn't as if Arithmancy was particularly difficult for me.

Rose and her friends pushed past us. She looked grumpy at me. I knew that any association I had with Rachel just proved her point, but I was so sick of her stubbornness.

"Weasley you're allowed to look at me!" I called loudly.

She turned to sneer at me over her shoulder.

"And why would I want to do that?" she wondered. "It's not as if I would see anything."

"You really know how to win a girl's heart, Scorp," Rachel muttered, shaking her head in awe.

"Well clearly he knows how to win yours," Rose snapped at her, freezing in her tracks. Jess rolled her eyes dramatically, and Nina appeared to be trying to prevent herself from laughing. Lucy just put her hands on her hips, tapping her foot impatiently.

Rachel snorted, and opened her mouth to retaliate, but I beat her to it.

"At least she has a heart," I said. "Unlike you Rose, with your swirling black hole of despair."

She rolled her eyes now. "I wouldn't really be the one calling people heartless, Malfoy."

"You don't even _listen _to me Rose!"

"I don't _want _to!" she returned, looking very much like she was about to have a tantrum.

"Goddamn you," I told her. "Fine. Fine. You don't like me anymore, fine. Let's just not hold grudges, and move on with our lives. No more you and me. Just nothing. Like it was before."

"Like it was before?" she said.

"Yeah," I said hopefully.

"Scorpius, it would be a miracle if I could ever like you half as much as I did before," she said, turning dramatically on her heel and storming toward the castle.

"Well…" Rachel said. "That went well…"

"Shut the fuck up," I told her.

-CD-

_Next Chapter: "What is your problem Rose? You have so many of them. But what in particular is it this time?" _


	37. Chapter 37

**_A/N: When I say they're more fun I guess I mean more fun to write. Because they are. _**

Chapter 37:

"Happy Birthday," Eric said, dropping a pillow on my face.

"I like this gift," I grumbled, flipping onto my stomach. "Smother me."

"You need a cheering charm," Eric said, yawning and traipsing into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him with a click.

"Cheering charm my arse," I said. It was a Saturday morning, and I was fucking sleeping in.

"You have presents," Paul informed me from across the room.

"Wonderful to know," I said, yawning.

"You're eighteen," Steve said, smacking me upside the head.

"Thank you for telling me. I had no idea," I said.

"You're going to miss breakfast," Paul said, closing the door of the room behind him as he and Steve left. I sighed in the silence. After a moment, I peeled an eye open. It was late in the morning, sun filtering in through the window, bouncing off the dust particles floating through the air. The steam from Eric's shower was floating out from under the bathroom door, filling the room. I groaned to myself, sitting up. I would go down to the kitchens if I missed breakfast, but I needed a bath.

Rose and I had taken to using our bathroom again. It was given an auror inspection everyday, just to make sure things were all right. Along with McGonagall, we had realized that if the main target area was our bathroom, then if the assailant switched targets to the prefect's bathroom, more people's lives would be at we just continued to utilize the death trap.

I walked down there still in my shorts that I had slept in, with my Tutshill Tornadoes shirt on top—one of the few Rose hadn't stolen for her own use at one point or another, and then returned complete with her scent to my drawers.

I said the password and, after making certain it wasn't already inhabited by a certain red-haired Weasley, I went inside, turning on all the taps. Meanwhile, I gave it my usual once over, attempting to detect jinxes and poisons and perhaps mildly lethal creatures.

I stripped off my clothes and slipped into the water.

I had a massive pile of presents back by my bed. I didn't really care, nor did I really want them. Being the sap that I was deep down in my heart and my slightly dark soul, I just wanted Rose. Or at least to enjoy this day with her, just as I had enjoyed her birthday with her. Perhaps I had been a little overzealous in my predictions of the length of her relationship when I demanded similar treatment on my birthday.

I closed my eyes, floating on my back. Rose wandered into my head, of course. She did a good job of cropping up in my mind all of the time. Just bothering me, tempting me, making me horny to the point where I was forced to wank off just to the picture of her in my head.

The memory of her tongue on my skin, her warm breath against my neck, strong and beautiful legs around me, her laughing, taunting voice, made me go hard there in the tub. I moved to the shallower end of the pool, until the water wasn't even waist high and grasped myself with one hand, readying myself to make good on her image.

The last shag we had, on her birthday, was fresh in my head. It was as if I was still in that moment. It was so… _good._

And then a noise startled me, a crash of some sort, or a slam, I suppose, and someone cursing. And then a foot wearing a female muggle trainer appeared out of nowhere.

"Damn it!" Rose's voice said, and she pulled the invisibility cloak over her head so that she was fully visible. She began to rub her knee, having tripped over my robes and crashed her knees into the tiles. I jumped, diving for deeper water to conceal my present situation, although she had undoubtedly already seen it.

"What are you doing here? Were you using Albus's cloak? Were you _spying _on me?" I demanded.

"Happy eighteenth birthday, Scorpius," she said. "What? No… I wasn't using my cousin's cloak. Not to spy on you at least…"

"Then why, may I ask, were you interrupting my bath?" I wondered.

"Well…" she said. "I was coming to see if the baths were opened, and I came in, and you… well…"

She cleared her throat.

"How about you leave now, yeah?" I said. "Rose, we can't be together, so I don't think you can watch me wank off either. Appealing as it might be."

She rolled her eyes. "You flatter yourself."

"I think you do the same," I replied. "What is your problem Rose? You have so many of them. But what in particular is it this time?"

She glared at me. "Just shut up and finish up, will you. I need a bath."

"I think I'll take my own sweet time. It is my birthday after all. I have to make sure I enjoy myself," I said.

"You're a pompous arse, a prat, and a…" she trailed off, finally for once, at a loss for words. "I hate you."

"Thank you," I said. "I'll remember that in the future. It's pretty easy to hate you, what with your being Weasley trash and everything."

"I will hex your balls off, Malfoy," she said.

"I dare you," I taunted. "You saw me. I pushed her away, Rose!"

"Because you couldn't believe you'd gotten caught!" she snapped.

"You're a lunatic," I informed her.

She just glared at me and stalked away, slamming the door behind her.

If anything, that made me want to wank off to her quite a bit less. So I turned the temperature of the water to cold, and I tried to forget she ever existed. Because life was easier if you didn't develop emotional attachments. I had at least learned that much.

-CD_

Rose:

The goal honestly had not been to see him naked. Things were worse if that happened. As soon as I saw his god body slipping into the water, I was hooked. I just had to watch. I was telling the truth when I said I came there for my own bath, but I didn't want to run into him, so I took Al's cloak. But he was already shirtless when I got there, and that just so appealing to me. Just because I hated him to the very core of his soul—or lack thereof, perhaps—didn't mean I couldn't be attracted to him just the same.

I hated moments like these. They started to make me wonder if deep, deep, down, somewhere in the caves and caverns of my soul, shrouded by just and cobwebs and guarded by dragons, I actually did still love him.

I hated those moments because I hated those ideas.

Crossing my arms, I pouted grumpily to myself. My parents were going to find out eventually, and I was going to get a bunch of haughty I told you so's. I was blackmailing Hugo to keep him from letting them know of my relationship's demise. I had to figure out how to tell them myself, and the longer I could make them think the relationship lasted, the less idiotic I looked.

In the meantime, to vent my anger to a parental source, I wrote a heated letter to Aunt Gin about how much the male species deserved to be turned into frogs until which time we needed them to repopulate the earth, so we'd turn them back to humans, then back into frogs when we no longer needed them.

She replied telling me that that wouldn't work because we'd have an abundance of frogs and it would be mildly disturbing to see that many frogs on a daily basis But then she told me that she thought Malfoy was a prick as well, but reminded me that I ought to make sure I knew the entire story before jumping to conclusions and hexing him until he _couldn't _actually help repopulate the earth anymore.

So I'd managed to keep my wand to myself for the most part, knowing I would have some difficulty not performing spells that would get me kicked out of Hogwarts and thus ruin my entire future.

Though every time I looked at him I at least wanted to shrink him a little.

His head, I mean. Yeah, that big fat skull of his.

Twirling my wand through my fingers I grumbled to myself. I knew he was taking his own sweet time in there, just to piss me off. As if I didn't have a million things to do already today. I'd gotten up at the crack of dawn to get my breakfast, and then after this shower, I had a mandated meeting with Professor Longbottom to gab about my future, making sure I still had the same plans as last time he talked with me—get into the Auror program. And then I had Quidditch practice. He was not going to ruin my day.

-CD-

Rose:

I tromped through the snow, before knocking delicately on Professor Longbottom's door.

"Hello, Rose," he said cheerfully, stepping aside to let me through. His office was the same as always. Plants were stacked up on every shelf, tagged with this and that. The metallic aroma of dirt filled the air, taking over my lungs as soon as I sat down on the perfectly clean and comfortable chair in front of his desk.

"Hello, Professor," I said, watching a plant with many tentacles wave its arms angrily through the air.

"Curious little plant that one," he said, pointing with his wand. "It's Caerphilly Crawler. It's much like a human child—needs proper care and attention, and when it get's hungry…w ell you have to feed it, because it starts acting like that… but if it's acting like that, it's very hard to feed it without getting yourself strangled. It's a pity that a standard immobilizing charm won't do the trick on it either…"

"So… how _do _you feed it?" I wondered.

"Well, I've taken to mixing water and nutrients together and then shooting them at it with my wand from a safe and strangle-free distance."  
I laughed. "Oh Merlin…"

"It's really quite a nice plant when it just… well when it's happy," he said. "Sort of like a cat. It's likes to be petted…"

I laughed again. "All right then."

"So Rose," he said, waving his wand and having a roll of parchment appear from nowhere. It had my name written at the top and a bunch of things written down it—it was my Hogwarts record. Amusingly enough there were a good share of detentions. I always enjoyed reading it. The only thing interesting about me in my first year was the amount of trouble I got in, accented by the fact that my exam scores were written down as the top in class, though usually, somehow, without fail, tied with Scorpius Malfoy's.

After my first year, we were accused of cheating off of each other. No one could get almost exactly identical scores. But when compared, our tests were very similar, however, we went into different types of detail. The facts we included or didn't include were not the same. And besides, the amount of anti-teaching spells that were on those exams, made it very unlikely that any first year could charm his or her way past it. And if they could, then they were probably getting top marks anyway.

Second year, it showed my induction to the Quidditch team, and a somewhat steady, though not deal-breaking amount of detentions. I got fifty points that year from saving a first year from a venomous tentacula plant when we were both in greenhouses we shouldn't have been in. Again, the highest scores were written.

Third year, that was my boring year. I didn't get in a lot of trouble or do anything fantastic. I just played Quidditch, and tried every club that the school offered. I finished top in the class, tied again.

Fourth year, I was the most valued player on the Quidditch team, which pissed James right off, even though the next year he was made captain. I was almost bumped up to fifth-year transfiguration because I'd been getting so bored in class that I started to come up with my own spells and inadvertently discovered how to turn the teacher's desk into a very angry Hippopotamus. Scorpius Malfoy almost faltered in transfiguration, but the point I beat him by there, was made up for in divination, where he was better at making up crap for Trelawney than I was.

Fifth year, I was made a prefect, with Albus. I took on the duties, and behaved well to uphold them, though I couldn't deny that my bored habits of wandering around the school where and when I wasn't supposed to be, led to a few detentions here and there. I scored one hundred twenty points in the final Quidditch match, while James scored fifty. Albus caught the snitch, and we flattened Slytherin, and Scorpius Malfoy's team, so badly that they wouldn't show their faces to any Gryffindor for a week. I got an Outstanding on every single one of my OWLs, save for Divination, where my E was good enough, and still tied Scorpius Malfoy's. I had decided just before exams that I wanted to be an auror.

Sixth year was another boring year. I excelled in all of my classes again, and tried and failed to drive Scorpius Malfoy into the dirt. We took the Quidditch final again, this time from Hufflepuff. Our final exams had never been better. But they were still the same. I still wanted to be an auror.

Seventh year had stuff written on it already. Mostly, it appeared, cataloging my death attempts and the fact that I was head girl and Quidditch captain, with one detention.

"So, Rose," Professor Longbottom said. "What about your future? You want to be…?"

"An auror," I filled in, even though he already, obviously knew the answer.

"Are you certain about that?" he said.

"Fairly," I said. "Yes."

"All right," he said. "Because when I sent a letter to the auror program informing them of this, they expressed great interest."

"That's good," I said.

"However," he said. "I also have recently gotten owls from three other sources. Perhaps you've heard of the Montrose Magpies, the Pride of Portree and the Tutshill Tornadoes."

I stared at him. "Quiddtich teams."

"Yes, of course," he said, laughing. "They're very interested in you Rose. I just thought I ought to let you know that you have many options open for you and you should not restrict yourself to one without looking at all of them."

_Next Chapter: A break from the Rose and Scorpius drama, focusing more on Qudditch. _


	38. Chapter 38

_**A/N: I'm not trying to hate on Hufflepuffs here, just so anyone knows. it was just pretty easy to write this chapter like this, with them, not Ravenclaw. **_

Chapter 38:

Rose:

One month of not looking Scorpius Malfoy in the face. One month of absolute disbelief in the interest of professional Quidditch teams. One month of being too afraid to shower in my own bathroom so I didn't run into Malfoy. One month of working myself so hard, just to beat him on something. One month of hiding the truth from my parents. One month of training harder than I ever have before.

"Ready, team?" I said, yanking my hair back into my ponytail.

"Ready," they said in unison.

"All right," I said. "If we don't win this… it's going to be really sad. That's all."

They all laughed.

"So kick arse," I said.

We walked out onto the field to the roar of cheers from the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw stands. The Hufflepuffs appeared to roars from Slytherin and Hufflepuff.

"Captains, shake hands," Madame Watson said. I cordially shook the hand of Hufflepuff captain Duncan Reese.

"Again," she said. "This game is going to be fair and calm. Do you understand?"

Everyone nodded easily. The Hufflepuffs were just hoping to get out unscathed, and not too badly damaged. My goal was to just get past their weakling keeper sixteen times, so that even if their seeker caught the snitch before Al—which he assured me wasn't going to happen—we would still win. Or that we would crush them with at least three hundred points. Either way.

"All right, take to the skies," Watson said. We pushed off from the ground and Lily had the quaffle as soon as it was in the air. She took off down the field, dodging a bludger. I was in perfect synch with her, seizing the quaffle on her pass and aiming it right past the keeper, scoring the first goal of the game within a minute.

"Ten points to Gryffindor!' Nina's voice echoed over the stands.

"Hufflepuff Wilkes seizes the quaffle, with a drop pass to Jones, taken by L. Weasley on the Gryffindor team, who passes it to L. Potter, who returns the pass when confronted by beater, captain, Reese. Weasley passes it to captain Rose Weasley, who dodges a bludger and shoots, scoring again. Another ten to Gryffindor."

I laughed happily high fiving Lily and Lucy, and taking off after Lynch who had the Quaffle for Hufflepuff.

-CD-

Rose:

Half an hour in and we were up one hundred to zero. Sixty of those points were mine, and the other forty split between Lily and Lucy. Poor Hufflepuff was so downtrodden at this point, their seeker was just morosely tailing Albus around the field, in hopes that maybe he would best him in the chase in the end. Which wouldn't happen.

I had the Quaffle in my arms again, shooting like a bullet down the field. I rolled to avoid a bludger and shot upside down, sinking another goal and causing an uproar of Gryffindor cheers.

"See, now you're just showing off," Jess laughed at me as Ella nearly knocked Lynch off of his broom with her bludger.

"I'm bored!" I told her, doing a loop-the-loop. "You could let them score."

"That's just cruel," she said as I took the Quaffle from Lily and sped off in the other direction again. I wondered if it had been touched by Hufflepuff hands in the last ten minutes.

"How's the snitch seeking going?" I asked Al as I shot by.

"I have a leech. But it's nowhere to be seen," he said. "Wait, never mind."

And he dropped a good twenty feet as I shot another goal. This was perhaps the saddest game of Quidditch I'd ever played, except for when I did one on one with Hugo. But he preferred if I didn't bring those memories up.

Lily shot another goal, just in time for Nina to announce "Albus Potter has caught the snitch! Gryffindor wins."

The look on Reese's face was one of sheer embarrassment as I plummeted to the ground to join my team and cousin in a celebration of glee—and yes, a little sadistic laughter.

"Final score," Nina said. "Two hundred seventy to zero,Gryffindor."

Jess, Albus, Ella, and I exchanged a glance with each other and started to laugh.

The Hufflepuff team walked off the pitch in silence.

"Miss Weasley!" Professor Longbottom said, appearing next to me. "I have someone here… well two someones, actually, that would like to talk to you."

I turned around to see a witch, standing several feet apart from a wizard. She wore black robes, but had massive badge on her chest, reading "Pride of Portree" and he had a similar situation, yet with a badge saying "Montrose Magpies."

I gaped.

"Okay," I said, carrying my broom with me as I walked over to them.

"Hello, Rose, I'm Abigail Smith from the Pride of Portree. I'd be quite interested in talking to you," she said.

Before I could reply, the wizard cut in, giving her a glare, and if they'd been standing closer, I wagered he would've elbowed her in the gut.

"I'm Alex Poe, from the Montrose Magpies. That was some game," he said. "Would you be interested in talking to me?"

"I'd love to talk to both of you,' I said. "Which one of you would like to talk first?"

"I'll go ahead," Alex Poe said.

"You can use my office, Miss Weasley," Madame Watson said. "It should be open."

"Thank you," I told her.

"So, how long have you been on the team?" Alex asked me as we walked to the office.

"I've been on the team since my second year,' I said. "But I've played since I was little. There's a lot of Quidditch in my family, so I was sort of put on a broomstick from a young age. So was my little brother, but he didn't fair very well. He takes after my mum. My dad says I take after my aunt."

"Your aunt, being Ginny Weasley of the Holyhead Harpies, correct?" he said.

"Yes," I said.

"And you've only been captain of the team this year?" he said.

"Yes," I said. "My cousin James Potter was captain for the last two. But I've been given our internal team award of most valued player since my fourth year."

"It was a very impressive game. Though I must say the other team was not putting up a very good fight. You shoved them into the dirt fairly early on, didn't you?" he said, laughing.

"Yes," I said. "I know. Earlier this season we played another house. We lost that one, but even their seeker told me afterward that his catch was a lucky one. Our team had been ruling the pitch for a while, until he caught Albus off guard and captured the snitch. Albus is a _very _good seeker."

"I can see that," he said. "But I'm more interested in you, Rose. Your team is astounding, but even so, you make the rest of them look mediocre at best. The way you fly… it's as if you wouldn't even be comfortable, or at home walking on the ground. You handle the quaffle very well, and you seem to know the way the ball flies perfectly, the weight of it, and what you can do with it. I was very impressed with your shot there, the one you took upside down.

"We, the Magpies, have had our eyes on you for a long time now. And we'd like to know if you would be interested, perhaps in joining our team after your seventh year here at Hogwarts… I heard from your headmistress that you are interested in the auror field. I would like you to reconsider."

"Mr. Poe," I said. "I would really have to think about this. Your offer is… amazing. I am very honored that you have set your eyes on me. But I would need to discuss with my professors, and parents before making any decisions."

"I understand that," he said. "Here is my card. Now, please send me an owl, if you make any decisions. And I will be here at your next game, which I assume is the final against Ravenclaw?"

"Yes," I said. "Depending on how they fair against Slytherin."

"All right," he said. "Thank you for your time."

"No, thank you," I said, shaking his hand.

Abigail came in as soon as he left, and proceeded to ask me the same introductory questions. After talking about the game, she said, "We've had our eye on you, Rose, for a very long time. We first saw you in a game in your fourth year when we came to watch the Ravenclaw keeper, Daniel Woodslow. He ended up signing with Kenmare, but you caught the eye of my colleague, now head coach Liam Blaire. He told me I had to come see you play.

"I think that was an amazing game," she said. "No matter the fact that you were clearly not appropriately matched with the Hufflepuff team, and, from a complete third-party observer, you are a much more talented team than they are… well… it was still an amazing game. Perhaps it would've been more exciting had you been playing with a team a little more… talented… but at the same time, there were some brilliantly executed moves and drills out there. Were most of those moves, other than the usual, out of your head?"

"Yes," I said. "I take from the old Gryffindor playbook that has been around for a good fifty years now… but most of today's moves were ones I've come up with this year, to keep the opposition on their toes. I've been working with the team on them, trying to coordinate with new stuff since around the start of the new term… See I had the misfortune of having to remove one of my beaters from his position at the beginning of the term, and I have a feeling he was a bit… well… bitter, about being booted… so I was worried that he would share some of our plays with his friends in Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff…"

"Why did you have to let him go?" she wondered.

"Well… he was not so supportive of one of the members on the team, and I think that as a team, we have to really be a family of sorts. There's no room to not be accepting of each other. It makes it harder to function on as a team, and that's a problem that I've seen in some of the teams here. It can't just be about who's the most talented when you're in school… because you have to have talent, but you have to be able to tolerate each other, or you won't even be able to handle running one play. So we ended up with Ella instead. She's… a force. She ended up being both more accepting and more talented, so it was a winning situation all the way around."

"I can see that," she said. "Well I'm glad you worked things out, because your team performed amazingly today. However, I didn't even notice the rest of them. Not really. Not when you were playing right next to them. You made them look like first years learning to fly. I've seen very few people handle a quaffle with your talent. Even in the professional world, but especially at this age. We believe that you would be a spectacular asset to Pride of Portree. Now before you say anything, I understand that the Magpies, Tutshill Tornadoes as well as the Ballycastle Bats are interested in you as player for them. And you are also interested in becoming an auror. I get that it will probably come down to a money thing.

"However, I would like to make you an offer now Rose. Sign with us, and you'd play on our reserve team, and then move up to the main team after one year when our chaser, Alexia St. Paul, retires, which she is set to do without a doubt at the end of next season. And we would make it worth your while. But do me a favor. Think about it. Look at other offers. The rest of the staff would like to meet with you and your parents, so I will send along an owl, requesting a meeting with you and them. Give it some thought between now and then. Look into it. And look at other offers. But I'm fairly certain we will fight for you if we need to."

"All right," I said, nodding, completely in awe.

"Now, I have to run," she said. "So I will see you shortly, hopefully, just to get your signature, you know."

I grinned. "All right. Thank you so much."

She shook my hand and ducked out of the office, leaving me there, dumbstruck.

_Next Chapter: "Hogwarts chandeliers don't just _fall."


	39. Chapter 39

_**A/N: Hey everyone. I hope my American friends are enjoying either the first few days of their summer vacation, or perhaps a long Memorial Day weekend. And to everyone else, I hope you're just enjoying life. **_

Chapter 39:

Scorpius;

"I heard she got an offer from Pride of Portree," Eric said, looking at Albus expectantly.

"Maybe, maybe," he said.

"Tell the truth, you prat," Eric said.

"Okay, yeah, she did," he said.

I looked up finally, from my butterbeer.

"That's Scorp's favorite team," Eric said, nudging me.

"Yeah, it is," I said.

"Sort of ironic," Eric said.

'I think you mean coincidental," I said.

Eric glared at me. "You need help."

"Thanks," I said, flipping the page in the newest Defense book my mum sent me to entertain me—along with questions of "oh, how is Rose? How are you two doing? Are you happy?" and then of course the mantra of "she's such a nice girl. What a sweetheart. You're lucky to have her." I hadn't had the heart to burst her bubble yet.

"I don't know if she's going to take it or still try to get in the auror program,' Albus said. "Montrose is interested in her too… or at least they were here after the game."

I raised an eyebrow and looked back at my book. I was pretending not to be interested, but in fact, I was hanging on his words. It was impossible to not wonder what she would choose. Pride of Portree… if she could play for them… well I had a feeling she would love it. I couldn't see how she wouldn't, truly. I knew she was good enough to get these offers. There was no doubt in my mind that she was going to make good.

"Speaking of which, I need to get broomstick polish," Albus said.

The three of us were sitting in the Three Broomsticks. I was pretending that I wasn't feeling totally awkward crashing their man-date or whatever it was, and reading my book instead… though they said it was nothing and I was more than welcome to join them. But still. It was starting to wear following around a gay couple all of the time. It was exactly like following around a normal couple. They were flirting and joking around with each other and I felt like the awkward third wheel.

But it was go with them or go with Rachel, and I was not eager for that. Knowing my luck, I would go just to hang out with Rachel, and Rose would see us and it would just reinforce everything she thought about me. Which was exactly what I didn't need.

Someone might, rationally, ask me, why I was still, after she'd pushed me around, been so damn stubborn, and very obnoxious, trying so very hard to get her back. It was such a good question. I didn't even know the answer. I supposed it was probably because I still loved her. I couldn't help myself. I just, truly adored her. There was something about her that was amazing and attractive.

I sipped my butterbeer distractedly. One week, and I was playing in a Ravenclaw match that would officially determine what was going to happen in the finals. I found myself hoping Gryffindor would win it all, just so Rose would look better in the eyes of the scouts.

I was too nice. What had happened to me?

-CD-

Scorpius:

I'd never really obeyed the rules about wandering the halls at night. One look at my record would tell you that. It was full of detentions administered to me purely because of my lack of the ability to abide by a curfew. Long ago I gave up caring on whether or not I was caught. My grades made up for my bad behavior, and because I was for the most part, well mannered and well behaved in every other way, no one really got more mad at me than a detention here and there.

This year, I spent a good chunk of my time happily wandering the halls. It was nice to clear my head, especially as we crept into the warmer months. My school year was drawing to a close, and decisions and applications were all being filled out and sent by owl, in hopes that I would have some place to go once the year finished.

My eyes were locked on that auror program. If I didn't get in, I wasn't sure what direction I would go in. NEWTs were approaching, and my grades on those would have some influence on the places that did or didn't take me… But I was generally qualified for any position I chose at this point, unless I decided for some odd reason I wanted to teach History of Magic. Which I didn't.

I had backups.

I didn't want any of them, but I had them.

I knew I was going somewhere. At least that was important.

I didn't have long until I was going to have to face my parents. They would ask why Rose and I broke up, and I would come out with my new standard answer of being different people. Mum would prod and I wouldn't give into her, and finally, somehow—possibly by drugging me with veritaserum—Dad would get it out of me. He always did. I would have to say that she thought I cheated on her, and that she didn't trust me. Because I was a Malfoy.

I was sick of this. What did it matter that I was Malfoy? What difference did it truly make in the long run? Who cared? I would stand by my name, because I was going to prove that I didn't have to be the stereotype. I was smart, talented, and I was going to start protecting people. There was no reason for anyone to blame me for the past. I had nothing to do with it. I couldn't change it. They couldn't change it by hating me. I was not my father and my father was not his father.

I turned abruptly around starting in the opposite direction, this time heading toward the Gryffindor common room to finally confront the damn Weasley and make her listen to me, even if it was the middle of the night.

As soon as I switched directions, a massive chandelier that had been there, sturdy, for all seven years of my time at Hogwarts crashed to the floor behind me, shattering into a million pieces. I would have, had I continued on my usual path, been completely crushed underneath it. I whirled around at the noise as shards of glass and crystals skittered across the floor, shooting at my legs.

Chandeliers in Hogwarts didn't just fall down. They didn't just drop on their own accord. I slid my wand out of the pocket of my pajama bottoms, waving a path through the glass, I looked around the hallway.

"Who's there?" I demanded.

"Mr. Malfoy!" a voice echoed, Hawk-like behind me. I whirled to see Professor McGonagall, hustling in her old age, clad in a tartan dressing gown, hair still pulled severely away from her face.

"Professor!" I said. "I was just walking and the chandelier… it just dropped… I was standing there seconds before it fell. I swear to Merlin I moved out of the way just in time."

She looked around briefly. "Hogwarts chandeliers don't just… fall."

"I know," I said. "Hence my shock and all that…"

"Are you… is anyone else here?" she demanded.

"I was just looking," I said. "But I don't see anyone."

She picked up her skirt, walking across the floor, glass crunching under her slippers. She waved her wand around, muttering to herself. "What I would give to have been watching Potter's map…"

I sort of just ignored that as she moved to the chandelier, climbing over the wreckage to examine the cables that had previously held it to the ceiling.

"This was certainly severed by a spell," she said. "My goodness. And Rose Weasley was not with you, Mr. Malfoy?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. I was officially amused that she wasn't even the slightest bit upset with me for wandering the school after hours. But I decided to contemplate that later, and focus on more important matters.

"Well as much as I hate to say this, I think we've just figured out who the target of the crimes that have been committed truly is," she said.

I looked at her, a bit slower on the uptake than usual. I stared at her for a moment. "You mean me, professor?"

"Of course, you Malfoy," she said, rolling her eyes. "Merlin. And you're the top of your class."

"I think I deserve a few extra points toward the house cup for this, Professor," I said.

She just shook her head. "I think what we need to figure out is who is trying to kill you, Mr. Malfoy. I must say, I never thought this would happen from one of our students.'

"it's mildly exciting being someone's assassination target," I said, laughing.

"Only you, Mr. Malfoy, would find this funny," she said, waving her wand. The entire chandelier lifted up and reattached itself to the ceiling, all of its pieces flying back together.

"Professor, I've experienced quite a bit of hate in my life," I said. "This isn't really anything new for me."

She frowned, the lines on her face deepening. "It bothers me that you say that. No, it bothers me that that's the truth."

I shrugged stowing my wand back in my pocket.

"I think I'll escort you back to your common room so that no one kills you, Malfoy," she said, cracking a smile.

"Right," I said. "Thank you, professor."

"I suppose we should get you some form of protection," she mused.

"I'll be quite fine without it," I said. "I just won't walk around alone, don't you think that's a good idea? No one is going to attempt to kill me in class, Professor. Not under the eyes of a teacher, truly. And I can fend for myself. I'm not so powerless."

She smiled again. "I'll take your word for it…"

"I think this is the most exciting thing that has happened in my entire seven years at Hogwarts," I said as we walked towards the dungeons.

"Exciting. Perhaps dangerous is a better word for it," she offered.

"It depends on your definitions," I said.

"No wonder you want to be an auror. You one of those unreasonably excited by danger. Do you and Albus and James Potter get along well?"

"Fairly, yes," I said.

"And Miss Weasley…" she said. "That doesn't surprise me either."

"Rose and I are far from getting along professor," I informed her, listening as the sound of our footsteps echoed across the entrance hall as headed in the direction of the stairs down to the dungeons.

"Yes, I noticed that," she said. "What happened?"

"I'm fairly certain she thinks I was cheating on her with Rachel Brown," I said. "And I think she had a hard time with her family not trusting me due to my name."

"Ronald Weasley is the biggest stubborn…" she looked around. "_Arse _that I have ever met. You must take everything he says toward you with a grain of salt. He collects grudges like a muggle collects stamps."

"Stamps?" I said.

"You stick them on letters when you mail them," she explained. "In order to pay for postage."

"You have to _pay?" _I said. "And… people actually _collect _these things?"

"Did you not take Muggle Studies, Mr. Malfoy?" she wondered.

I shrugged. "That must be NEWT level.'

"I suppose it is…" she said, laughing a little. "But yes, people actually collect them. Don't ask me why, I'm not a muggle. But what I'm saying here is, you need to not worry about Ron Weasley. He's very protective of Rose, and I suppose wouldn't take kindly to your relationship. But you just need to prove yourself to him."

"I saved his daughter's life," I said.

"I realize this," she said. "But sometimes he needs even more than that."

"Well it doesn't matter at this point," I said. "Rose and I aren't together."  
"Well here you are," she said, stopping outside the brick wall. "And as for that… _it doesn't matter _well… let me just say that the head boy and girl's bathroom is very rarely wrong. I said that in the first week here, didn't I?"

"I suppose you did," I said. "Maybe you ought to say that to Rose again."

"Give her time," she said. "Sometimes we women are very… pigheaded.'  
"I know," I said.

"Men are worse," she informed me strictly, shaking her head and shuffling off up the corridor. I laughed and walked into the common room, heading to my dormitory to go to bed.

_NExt Chapter: "Simply kissing another girl does not make Scorpius a Death Eater, Dad!" I said. _


	40. Chapter 40

**_A/N: I will post again tomorrow, but then I'm back to my every other day schedule until the end of this fic. SO close to the end!_**

Chapter 40:

Rose:

I was missing the damn Quidditch game at school to meet with Pride of Portree. But I had to remind myself what my priorities were. Or my mother did. It took me a moment to come back to reality.

I couldn't believe professional Quidditch teams were interested in me still, which was why it was harder to be realistic and rational all of the time about this.

My parents were as torn as I was. Mum wanted me to be an auror, because it was a fancy ministry career that would actually utilize my intelligence beyond strategizing. But on the other hand, she knew there was nothing in this world I loved more than Quidditch. Nothing. And Dad was the same way. He wanted desperately to have a Quidditch star for a daughter, but at the same time there were some good benefits to being an auror. For one thing, he was an auror. Like father like daughter and all of that.

But that being said, both of them were about as nervous for this meeting as I was. McGonagall let me go home for the weekend. We had been getting along fine at this gathering, and we had yet to, as a collective, bring up Scorpius. Enjoying each other's company was a bit more important.

So I put on a cute black skirt, and a white blouse under my robes, trying to look professional, but not too prissy. Mum and Dad told me that this was ultimately my decision to make, but it was good for them to come with me, making sure I didn't sign my life away to the wrong people.

Since the match, and my first meetings with both Montrose and Portree, I got letters in the mail requesting meetings with Portree, Montrose, Kenmare, Tutshill, Ballycastle, and finally the Chudley Canons. Much to my father's dismay when he found out, I set fire to that letter without actually opening it.

I was meeting with Portree this morning, Tutshill this afternoon and Montrose this evening. The Other two, the Irish teams, were meeting me tomorrow. It was the busiest weekend of my life perhaps. By the end of the weekend, I had decisions to make, and bargaining to do. Mum said she figured I would know what I was doing by the end of the weekend. I figured she already was fairly certain in her own Hermione way what my decision would ultimately be.

Perhaps one of the bonuses of Portree was its location. The Isle of Skye was one of my favorite places in Britain, and perhaps the world. It was just beautiful. End of story. The name itself gave an air of mystery and wonder. I loved the concept of it, of being able to fly through the low clouds and over the water that reflected the golden sun… It was mildly wonderful.

Portree was near the water. There was a bit of an inlet there, which the town bordered. The Quidditch stadium was in a concealed area closer to the waters in the middle of a wood. With it being so early in the morning, it was a glassy glittery sort of atmosphere, with dew still clinging to the lawn—well more like frost, but it still sparkled on the emerald blades.

Abigail Smith and Liam Blaire, as well as several other members of the Pride of Portree coaching staff were waiting just inside the doors of the pitch.

"Hello," Abigail said brightly, shaking my hand again. Then she turned to my family. "You must be Rose's parents."

"I'm Ron Weasley and this is my wife Hermione," Dad said, shaking her hand.

"I'm Liam Blaire, head coach of the Pride of Portree," Liam said, shaking everyone's hands. "I'm particularly interested in Rose here. This is my colleague, Kirk Gilmore who is the coach of the reserve team and who would be working with Rose for the first year to get her ready to play with me."

I just kept my grin on my face and responded to all of their questions—which were mildly repetitive and mostly concerned my Quidditch records, but also branched into my school habits and how I did in class. They were a bit shocked to find that I was top in the class, but that didn't seem to be a block up for the conversation. They were interested, and that floored me.

They put money on the table.

Money. I was just… well, perpetually in awe.

My parent seemed a little overwhelmed by the sum. I was too. It was just weird. Someone was offering me money to do the one thing I had loved since I was a child. Nothing was better than Quidditch in my eyes. Not even beating Scorpius Malfoy. I would rather be bottom in the class than never be able to play Quidditch again. It was the one thing I had always just… understood. Not understood like how to make a forgetfulness potion, or how to make chairs waltz with each other… but understood like I got every corner of it, every breath that it took to be a good. I had Quidditch in my blood.

Well I figured it was safe to say that I wasn't going to be an auror.

-CD-

Rose:

Mum looked at me over the bowl of soup, watching my face. She had been staring at me for the past half hour while we ate and Dad was trying to pretend like he wasn't noticing and read the _Prophet _instead. Even though he noticed. I was sure he knew exactly what she was thinking too. Damn parents with a mind-reading connection. Frustrated the hell out of me.

"What are you staring at me for Mum?" I demanded finally, clinking the spoon back into my soup.

"Well…" she said. "I was just wondering… About you and Scorpius…"

"What about us?" I wondered, looking into the depths of my water glass as I raised it to my lips to take a drink.

"Well…" she said. "How is your relationship going?"

I snorted indelicately. "Little bugger didn't tell you?"

Mum raised an eyebrow.

"Hugo," I translated. "Scorpius and I broke up. I thought Hugo would send you a letter instantly."

"Why did you break up?" Mum wondered as I saw Dad's grin over the top of the newspaper.

"Long story," I said, shaking my head and returning to my meal.

"Would you like to share?" she wondered.

"Not particularly," I said.

"Did you break up with him or the other way around?" Dad asked. "If he hurt you—"

"I broke up with him," I said. Even though it was he who shredded my heart, not the other way around. "He just successfully lived up to everything I always told myself he wasn't."

"A Malfoy," Dad said.

"No," I said. "A prick."

"A Malfoy," Dad concluded.

"I wish you would stop saying that," I said.

"What did he do?" Mum wondered.

"I saw him kiss another girl," I said. "Not too long after he told me he loved me."

"He told you he loved you?" Mum said. Apparently Dad didn't share that part of my reply letter. Before I could reply to her, Dad cut across us.

"That slimly little arse weasel," he said.

"Dad," I said, frustrated. "Stop!"

"No!" he said. "The little git's just like his father."

"Dad!" I said loudly. "For one thing, his father was a Death Eater. Simply kissing another girl does not make Scorpius a Death Eater. For another thing, Draco Malfoy is an extremely nice person, who regrets his past. He and his wife and genuinely kindhearted and they were very good to me when I visited them. Even though they had every reason to believe I was a bit of slut."

"Why would they think that?" Dad said, instantly going red.

I needed to remember to think about who I was talking to before I let my mouth run rampant. This was not a conversation I had been counting on having.

"For no reason," I said.

"You…" Dad said, his eyes darting around the small café we were in. "Did you… Rose?"

"Dad," I said. "No reason, really."

Mum was actually snickering a little.

"What?" I demanded of her.

"Rosie, Rosie," she said, shaking her head. "You actually think I'm surprised?"

"Do _you _think I'm a slut?" I demanded.

"Oh no," she said. "I could just tell. When you were with him. It was the way you acted toward each other. He was very protective of you, very… almost careful with you. He knew you very well. And you were the same way with him."

"Hermione!" Dad said. "You can't tell me you're okay with this."

"Ronald," Mum said impatiently. "She is eighteen, she gets better marks than either of us ever got, she's going to have a major Quidditch deal shortly, she's well behaved and never gets into trouble. If this is the greatest of our worries, than I say we have it pretty good."

Dad gaped at her.

"I can't believe I'm having this conversation," I said, resting my forehead on the table.

"But Hermione!" dad said. "With a Malfoy? A _Malfoy?"_

"Ronald Weasley," she said. "_Weasley. _How much did it bother you when you were stereotyped by your name in school, Ron?"

He frowned at her.

It appeared my mother was finally speaking her mind. I think she figured Dad had cooled down enough that the waters were safer at this point.

"This is the most awkward day of my life," I said, yanking at my hair dramatically.

'But he's a… Malfoy!" Dad complained.

"And Rose is a Weasley," Mum said. "Rose, please pick your head off of the table, you look like a tantruming four-year-old."

I looked up at her as she continued with her soup. Dad was gaping at her, and then gaping at me.

"But I mean, if he did kiss someone else Rose, then he is a git, and I think you have every right to break up with him," Mum said.

"Where was all this several months ago?" I wondered.

"It's not that easy to relent beliefs, Rose," Mum said. "It took me a while to let go of the past. You weren't there in the war—yes I know we say that to you all of the time— and this time it's a good thing. Because you weren't blinded by old prejudices, like those that your father and I had to—or I suppose have to—get over before accepting the Malfoys."

I nodded.

"But I think you have a very good judge of character," Mum said finally, before flagging down the waiter. "Yes, could I get another tea, please?"

_A/N: In the words of pinkdude64: Shit's about to go down. "I've never actually met someone as self-interested as you are." _


	41. Chapter 41

_**A/N: Rose visited her proctologist. He found her head. Please stop complaing my ear off ; )**_

Chapter 41:

Scorpius:

Well Ravenclaw flattened us. It was almost as embarrassing for us as the Hufflepuff/Gryffindor match was for Hufflepuff. But we at least made some goals. I didn't catch the snitch, however, and that was just depressing for me.

"I think we need to have a Scorpius cheering up party," Eric announced to our dormitory. He and Albus were sitting on his bed, and Paul and Steve were sitting on their beds, even Paul, our miserable keeper, not in as bad a mood as I was.

"It's been like this since that damn Weasley broke up with him," Steve said. "No offense to your cousin Albus."

"None taken," Al said. "She knows she's a damn Weasley."

I snorted. "I'm right here, you know."

"Oh we know," Eric said.

"Well if you didn't know, on top of Rose being a bitch, I'm also being targeted by some psycho Hogwarts kid intent upon dropping a chandelier on my head," I said.

"I don't know about Rose, but you definitely are being a bitch. A whiny bitch," Eric said.

"Thank you" I said. "Now leave me alone, will you? I'm sleeping."

"Grumpy," Eric said. "Al are you going back to your tower?"

Al looked at the clock. "Do you mind if I stay?"

"Do you think I mind if you stay?" Eric wondered.

'I swear you two are more nauseating than any straight couple," Paul complained, burying his head under the pillow.

I grunted my agreement hit my light, drawing the curtains around my bed so that I didn't have to look out at them. I cast a silencing charm so I could only hear my own thoughts.

Honestly, I was a little dizzy trying to think both of Rose, and who in the world might be trying to kill me. It was a difficult thing to think about, you know, who wanted to crush me with a chandelier. I didn't know anyone out there hated me that much. In the end, I wasn't so much bothered by being seen as a bad person as I was by the fact that someone was actually crazy enough to try to kill me, and yet seemingly sane enough to have not been evaluated at Hogwarts before. It was a little bothersome.

For now I was walking around Hogwarts with a big target on my back, being yelled at by Professor McGonagall, because she seemed to crop up right on cue, every time I decided I wouldn't die if I walked alone down to dinner, or to Herbology. I started to wonder if the woman herself was following me around so that no one attempted to hex me to death.

So I was, honestly, a little annoyed. I didn't get any time to think alone. So I ended up having to cast a bunch of spells around my bed just to keep myself from yelling at the rest of my dormitory for cutting into the only thinking time I had left.

I'd made a bit of a resolution to myself. It was only necessary that I do it. I was going to do two things before the end of this year at school. For one thing, I wasn't about to leave Hogwarts without figuring things out with Rose. I hoped she knew that. I was going to get her to hear me out in the next three months, so that she would realized I'd done nothing to her. Maybe it would do nothing for our relationship—which would be fine, as we were probably going to go in very different directions—but it would at least prove to her that I wasn't an arse, like she thought I was.

And then my other goal was to figure out who was out to crush me with chandeliers. It was a decent question. And I didn't really think that I was going to live looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life. That was definitely not the plan at all. I was going to get the little arse weasel and kick his—or her, but I always thought girls were a bit more polished about this sort of thing—kick his obnoxious murdering butt halfway across the Hogwarts grounds.

So I had a plan. I had to execute that.

-CD-

Rose:

I walked with legs made of lead down to breakfast Monday morning. It had been, perhaps, the most exhausting weekend of my life. Kenmare and Ballycastle blurred into one meeting for me, and I told my mum that I wasn't playing in Ireland anyway, no matter how much they both offered me. She told me it was okay, they both offered less than the three British teams. I told them both at the end of the day when we headed back to Hogwarts, that I wasn't going to be an auror anymore.

I noticed, one floor up from the Great Hall, that Phineas North was sitting in a window seat, reading alone.

"Hey kid," I said, sitting down next to him.

He raised an eyebrow looking up over his book. "I'm a year younger than you."

"Which makes you a kid," I told him.

He returned to his book.

"Not very talkative, are we?" I questioned.

"It's a good book," he said, finally closing it, and dropping it in his bag. "Can I help you with something?"

"Well I just thought I'd say hi," I said. "I have a confession to make. You said hi to me… and I didn't even know your name."

"It's okay ," he said. "You have other things on your mind than knowing everyone in Hogwarts."

"Oh…" I said. "Thanks."

"You're very self-involved. It makes sense," He said.

I raised my eyebrows. "Oh…"

"I've actually never met anyone as self-interested as you," he said, laughing a little. "Maybe your boyfriend. Though I heard you dumped him. Smart move. Malfoys are the biggest snakes that roam that Slytherin pit."

"They're not that bad…" I said.

"His grandfather killed half of my family. Including my older brother," he said. "I had to watch my mother go over the edge of sanity because of it. It took her a while to do that, but the nightmare of Lucius Malfoy and his friends torturing my grandparents, my mother's brother, and her own son, and then killing them, killing the baby without a second thought… those images still haunt her. My parents wouldn't join them. So they decided to make them suffer more than they would just with death. So don't tell me Malfoys are not that bad. And your boyfriend is just like his grandfather, like his father."

My forehead scrunched together. "Scorpius is not like that."

"It's in his blood," Phineas said. "Draco Malfoy should not have gotten off that easily, and his son should not exist. They shouldn't let that type of evil continue."

"Look…" I said. "I know your family was hurt… obviously they suffered quite a bit… but… you can't take this out on Scorpius. He did not hurt your family."

"Do you honestly think that coming from a family like his, you could actually be a good person?" he said.

"His _father _is a good person," I said. "Draco Malfoy is a good person."

"Rose—" the voice startled me. I turned to see Scorpius down the corridor.

"Draco Malfoy is a _Death Eater," _Phineas said. "And you're just as bad as they are if you want to defend them. Your family suffered too, Weasley. At the hands of many of the same people. They must be so ashamed that you come to the defense of people that killed your family and your family's friends. But then again, you probably don't care about that, seeing as most of what goes on in your head revolves around yourself."

He was standing then, and he had his wand out.

"You're just as bad as they are," he said aggressively.

"Put your wand away, kid," I said.

"I'm _not _a kid," he said. "Try being a kid when you have to take care of your mother when you're six years old. When you have to run the house alone and make sure your father eats at night, because all he does is think of his off-the-deep-end wife, when he himself is not much better… I am _not _a kid. Because of the Malfoy family."

"Put your wand away, North," Scorpius said, moving to stand next to me. He pulled his wand out just as I drew mine.

"I can't believe you've actually convinced this school that you're more than a sadistic Death Eater," Phineas said. "You're no better than your father, or your grandfather."

"North, calm down," Scorpius said. "We don't need to get worked up here."

"I'll get as worked up as I want!" Phineas said. "Your family destroyed my family."

"I'm not my family, and you're not your family," Scorpius said.

"But I'm the only one left to fight for them!" Phineas said.

"So you're taking out your revenge on me?" Scorpius wondered.

"Why shouldn't I hit your family where it really hurts, like where your family hit mine?" Phineas wondered.

"Because hurting me would hurt my father," Scorpius said. "Not my grandfather, who actually hurt you. It would hurt my father, and my mother who never did anything to you or your family."

"I can't even look at your face every day, because you look so much like all of them!" Phineas said.

"Phineas, was it you with the snake, and potions, and the chandelier?" Scorpius demanded.

"Chandelier?" I demanded.

"Long story," he said in an aside, before turning back to Phineas.

"What if it was?" Phineas demanded.

"First of all, hats off on obtaining all of those illegal things and actually getting them into Hogwarts," Scorpius said. "But you didn't just hurt me. You hurt Rose here. And she doesn't deserve that."

"Are you kidding me?" Phineas said. "I feel bad for her family. She latched right onto you, even after what your family and their friends did her family in the war. I didn't care if she got in the way. Because I know how much it would hurt my family if I decided I wanted to shag a Malfoy. I feel bad for her parents. She's so self-centered."

"It doesn't mean you can hurt her," Scorpius said.

"Oh really?" Phineas said. He raised his wand and slashed it through the air before I could react. Scorpius, forgetting the whole magic thing, did a very heroic, if not a tad bit idiotic, move of diving in front of me to take the brunt of the spell.

I knew what it was as soon as it hit him in the chest. I'd known about Sectumsempra for a long time. And so I found myself torn between helping Scorpius and taking the little North rat down with one swipe of my wand. I opted for both, freezing North into a solid body bind curse as soon as he started to run in the other direction.

"Scorpius?" I demanded, bending down as his own blood began to pool underneath him.

"Eh," he said. 'I'm fine. Not a big deal. I've had worse…"

"You are such a liar," I said. Before turning to an onlooker, who had passed by just in time for spells to fly. "Go get Madame Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall, you prat!"

"Be nice, Rose," Scorpius said, reaching up and touching my hair.

'Don't' move, you dumbarse!" I said, starting to use my wand to heal the slashes as best as I could.

"You're crying Rose," he accused.

"Shut up!" I yelled. "Just save your energy."

He smirked as I unbuttoned his shirt.

_Next Chapter: "You'd swear it was my fault that you'd been sliced open by a revenge-seeking maniac." _


	42. Chapter 42

**_A/N: There is a light at the end of the tunnel. And it is not the oncoming train. I promise. Ten more chapters, and believe me, you won't find the need to get angry at me. _**

Chapter 42:

Scorpius:

I woke to the feeling of cold water running over my face. I blinked my eyes to see the redheaded girl who had so plagued my illness-induced dreams. She gave me a sheepish look.

'I'm not very good at this," she said, brushing my hair back from my face.

"It's working just fine," I said.

She smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Like someone sliced up my chest with a deranged spell," I replied, groaning gently. "This sucks more than the snake bite, I think."

"I would say so," she agreed, putting the cloth she was using on my forehead back down in a bowl on the table beside her.

"And where'd the little bugger get to?" I demanded.

"I'm fairly certain he'll be joining his mum in a psychiatric ward for a while," she said, shaking her head.

"Poor kid," I said. "I'd feel a lot more sorry for him if he didn't cause me bleed all over the corridor."

"Nina walked by, and the poor girl can't stand the sight of blood. She vomited right there," she said, laughing a little.

"Oh ha, ha," I said. "I'm sure the scene of my gruesome almost-murder was absolutely hilarious to see."

"More like frightening," she said. "It was awfully stupid using your body as a shield, instead of magic."

"Says the girl who I was being a shield for," I said. "You should be more grateful."

"I am grateful," she replied.

"Bout time," I said.

"Yes, oh thank you, Scorpius for keeping me from being Sectumsempraed," she said.

"You're welcome," I said.

"You should've seen McGonagall. She came down on me like a screech owl, you would swear it was my fault that you'd been sliced open by a revenge-seeking maniac."

"Did she yell at you?" I wondered.

"Yes," she said. "Until she came to her senses and realized I was the one that kept you from bleeding out in the corridor and thus had saved your life. I think I ought to get an award for this, actually."

"If you get an award, I get one," I grumbled.

"Yes, because everything has to be equal," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Well fate wouldn't have it any other way," I said, laughing a little. "Damn, this spell hurts."

"It's not fun," she agreed, reaching up to push my hair away from my face again.

"How long have I been out?" I wondered.

"A day," she said. "With due reason."

"Yes," I said. "I would say so."

"You're such… a Malfoy," she said, laughing and putting a hand over her face.

"What milking injuries for all they're worth? I heard my father was mighty good at that in his day," I said.

"Malfoy," she said again.

"Weasley," I replied. "What's in a name? That which we call a Rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

"You're using my Shakespeare lines," she accused.

"I read the play too," I said. "What an awful creation, don't you think?"

"He got some things right," she said.

"What, that you would be the same, even if I called you something other than Rose?" I wondered.

"Rose, or Weasley," she said. "And that being a Malfoy is who you are, but you would be the same if your last name was… Smith."

"We create the name. The name doesn't create us," I said. "My grandfather made the name Malfoy into something bad. I intend to turn that around."

"Exactly," she said.

"So how have the life decisions been coming, Rose? That was some embarrassing match for Hufflepuff," I said.

"I've gotten contract offers from Kenmare, Ballycastle, Montrose, Portree and Tutshill. I already knocked Kenmare and Ballycastle off of the list, and so now it's mostly Montrose, Portree and Tutshill, and whoever can make it most worth my while."

"No Harpies offers?" I wondered.

She shrugged. "They sent me a letter saying it wouldn't be worth my time to join their team, because it's mostly young players at the moment. So they said to keep my mind open for them in the next few years. I can always switch loyalty."

I grinned. "So who do you think it's going to be?'

"Portree," she said instantly.

"Good choice," I said. "I hope you like purple."

"It could be worse," she said thoughtfully. "it could be orange."  
"No offers from the Canons then?" I teased.

"Well I did get a rather thick envelope from them," she said. "But I lit it on fire."

I laughed and then grimaced.

"You should stop laughing," she said.

"Shut up, Mother," I said.

"So cold," she said, shaking her head.

"I wouldn't talk, Ice Queen," I said, reaching for her hand. She slid hers into mine hesitantly.

"You still don't think I didn't just kiss Rachel, don't you?" I demanded.

"I don't know what to think," she admitted, looking downward, almost ashamed.

"Rose, ask any one of my roommates. Ask your cousin. I've been pining after you for about two months now," I said.

"Pining?" she repeated, smirking a little.

"You've made my life miserable!" I informed her, not finding it funny.

She smiled. "Oh come on. You can't have been that attached to me."

"I love you, you bloody imbecile," I said. "I don't love very easily. I'm like you. Heart made of concrete."

"Gee thanks," she said. "That's certainly the way to a girl's _concrete _heart. _You imbecile."_

I grinned. "Get up here." I patted the bed next to me.

She climbed up onto the bed and sat next to me, face level with mine.

"I would never, ever cheat on you," I said. "Believe me. Rachel is just a friend, and she was really upset and I was upset, and the way we used to solve our problems when we were upset… well she seemed to think we were going back that way… except she forgot I still had you. My girlfriend. Whom I loved very much at that point."

"And who was too stubborn to tell you that back…" she grumbled. "I love you too. Just so you know."

I smiled and sat up, ignoring any residual pain to bring her face to mine.

"You're so bloody stubborn," I told her when our faces were inches apart. And then I kissed her again, because honestly, I'd truly missed her lips on mine.

"I know I'm stubborn," she said. "I get it from my father."

"Speaking of your father, is he going to let me near you?" I wondered.

"Watch him try to stop us," she said, her eyes glinting with threat.

"Now, now, Weaslet, I don't see it being a good idea for you to hex your father," I said. "Besides he's going to have to get used to me. I will hopefully be working for him someday."

"You'll be working for Uncle Harry," she contradicted. "Dad would like to think he has an actual title in the auror office, but he's really just another auror. Mum always said, if he hadn't helped save the world…"

"Your mother is very cruel to your father," I commented.

"Apart from the tenacity and the red hair, I take after my mum…" she said thoughtfully.

"Oh, see, now I understand," I said, kissing her nose.

"Yes, exactly,' she said, laughing.

"Scorpius!" my mum's voice permeated the air. She bolted across the marble floor of the hospital wing, practically skidding to a halt at the foot of my bed. She rushed to my side while Dad meandered from across the room, always casual.

"How are you feeling?" Mum demanded. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," I said. "I can't believe McGonagall called you _again."_

"This is not a fun spell," Dad said thoughtfully. "Rose's uncle taught me that a long time ago."

Rose blanched, and then her face flooded with Weasley blush.

"Not that I didn't deserve it…" Dad said, smiling in a reassuring manner. "But that's another story for another time, I think. The antics of my sixth year are not exactly commendable."

"Was that the year you let the slew of Death Eaters into the castle?" I wondered.

Dad narrowed his eyes. "Thank you for reminding me."

"You're welcome," I said.

"Do you feel all right, honey?" Mum demanded, feeling my forehead with the back of her hand. "Should I get Madame Pomfrey?"

"I feel wonderful," I said as Rose slid off the bed.

"Where the hell are you going?" I said, catching her hand.

"Getting out of the way," she said.

"Why?" I wondered.

"Because your family is here…" she said, gesturing around.

"Thank you for pointing that out, Rose, I truly had no idea,' I said.

"So… I'm leaving you alone with them…" she said.

"Nice try," I said. "get back up here."

She glared at me. "Don't tell me what to do."

"I took a spell for you, Rose," I pointed out.

"You can't use that card forever!" she said. "And besides, I've already told you that it was a pretty daft move."

"I think you mean 'Thank you Scorpius.' Have we not been over this?" I teased.

"Well it's your own fault you're in this bed," she told me promptly.

Mum started laughing. "You two are so cute."

Dad raised an eyebrow and turned to look out the window, hands clasped behind his back.

"Just stay here, Weasley," I said, moving over to make room for her.

She rolled her eyes. "It's a good thing I like you, ferret."

Dad actually laughed at that nickname, but didn't turn around. I could tell he felt bad. He was twisting it around so that it was his fault I was in this hospital bed, and that if he hadn't been the son of a Death Eater and a Death Eater himself, things would've been different and Phineas North the maniac would've been trying to kill someone else. Or maybe he would've been a perfectly normal kid.

"Dad," I said, causing him to turn and look at me.

"Yes?" he said.

"I'm fine," I said. "Perfect, actually. And I don't regret… anything."

By anything I meant I didn't regret having him for a father.

"Thank you," Dad said.

"And by that, I mean… I don't regret you being my dad," I said. "I mean it might not have been particularly easy, but I know that you're a good dad, so what difference does it make?"

"Thank you," Dad said. I knew Rose must've felt like she was intruding on the very moments she had attempted to avoid.

"I just don't like the concept that… you being a Malfoy… could prevent you from doing what you want to do," he said.

"If they deny him from the auror program I have a feeling that professor McGonagall will probably raise hell," Rose offered.

Draco Malfoy laughed. "Well it's good to know that, at least."

"The name hasn't stopped me thus far," I said. "So…"

"So, what he's saying, Draco," Mum said. "Is don't worry about it. And he wouldn't, actually, trade you for another father if given the option."

"Good to know," Dad said, clapping me on the shoulder.

_Next Chapter: "I need to make up for your birthday!" (Rated M+) _


	43. Chapter 43

_**A/N: Okay, so I said at the end of the last chapter that this is basically a makeup sex chapter. All of it. It's short, but still. If you're offended by anything, go right ahead and skip the chapter. Here's a summary of what you would miss if you did: Scorpius gets out of the hospital wing, they have makeup sex, they share a couple of " I love you's" he calls her whiny, they tease each other for a while, the end. **_

Chapter 43:

Rose:

"Merlin it's good to be back in my own bed!" Scorpius said excitedly, flopping onto his back. "That damn nurse is a tyrant."

"Ah, Madame Pomfrey," I said, laughing a little.

"I've been fine for three days," he complained. "But no. Of course we couldn't possibly let Scorpius out early. Oh no. We couldn't let him do anything stupid—like train for Quidditch so his team doesn't miserably lose to Hufflepuff."

"Scorp, you'd have to not show up to the game to lose to Hufflepuff," she said. "I have a feeling you could beat the poor bastards while blindfolded."

"Still! The woman thinks I'm going to show signs of weakness three days after being healthy? I—" I cut him off with a kiss.

"Oh let's continue with this," he said, putting his hands on my waist and pulling me onto his lap on his bed.

"Damn," I said as he slid his hands up under my shirt.

"I've missed you," he said. "The feeling of your skin… it's very soft."

"I've missed you too," I said, kissing him again, our lips relearning each other.

"You're beautiful," he said. "And amazing. And sexy… and…"

"Slutty?" I offered.

"Whatever you choose," he said, shrugging.

"I think we have some lost time to make up for," I said.

"I agree completely," he said, hugging me close to him, peeling my shirt off over my head.

"I love you," I said.

"I love to hear that," he said. "And I love you too."

"I love you so much," I said, kissing his neck and tugging at his t-shirt. "Off."

He laughed, and pulled his t-shirt over his head.

"Scorp I—oh Merlin," Eric had shoved through the door, which we forgot to lock. Once he closed the door, I locked the door behind him and sealed it, kissing down Scorp's bare chest. He rolled me over so that I was on my back, him leaning over me.

I wound my fingers into his hair.

"I need to make up for your birthday," I said, my breath glancing off of his chest.

"No, you don't," he said.

"But I want to," I said, sliding my tongue around on his shoulder and chest.

I could feel his prick growing against my thigh. Apparently he had missed me quite a bit.

I brought my hands down him, pushing him over so that he was on his back. I started to unbutton his jeans, tugging them off of him after quickly undoing the zipper. I seized him through his tented boxers, causing him to groan.

"Rose…" he said.

-CD-

Scorpius:

I stared down at her, fighting to keep my eyes open as she tugged at the top of my boxers.

"Take your clothes off," I told her.

She rolled her eyes. 'Always so bossy."

"I thought we were making up for my birthday," I accused.

"Fine," she said, unbuttoning her jeans and slipping them off. I reached out to unhook her bra, while she slid off her panties.

"That's better," I said.

She pulled my boxers the rest of the way off, sliding her hand over me. I groaned again.

"You getting really good at this," I told her.

"Better than Rachel?" she demanded.

"_Much _better than Rachel," I said.

"Well doesn't that make me feel good," she said positioning herself so that she was straddling my knees. She leaned forward, looking strictly at me.

"I'll bet Rachel never did this," she said, bending her head as she swallowed my entire length.

"Damn it Rose!" I said, groaning. She was right. In my entire time with Rachel I'd never once gotten a blow job. I'd always sort of wondered what it would be like. But apparently I was learning today.

I felt the suction of her cheeks as she moved her tongue around me, causing me to moan her name yet again. She was very good at this. She knew how to get me wrapped around her fingers fairly easily.

"Rose…" I said.

She dragged her lips down, looking up at me through her eyelashes. I was certain that I had never once been harder.

"Damn it…" I groaned. I let another moan escape my mouth. "Rose…"

"What?" she asked, pulling her mouth away, and then reattaching. I'd never truly appreciated her tongue.

"Best extremely late birthday present ever," I moaned, clenching the sheets in my fists to keep myself still.

I could feel her dragging me closer and closer to the edge at this point. Honestly, she just needed to talk to get me there anyway, and now she was causing my entire body to spasm, wanting to come.

She pulled back for a moment, looking at me carefully, her lips red and glossed.

Before she could return to her work, I stopped her.

"Rose, stop," I said. "Stop."

"Why?" she said.

"I'm going to come if you keep doing that," I said. "I want to… with you."

"I can do that too," she said. Indeed, I could feel on my knees that she was already wet and warm, ready.

I pulled her up under her arms, flipping her onto her back so that I was on top.

"I love you," I told her.

"You're welcome," she said. "I've never done that before, so I hope it was all right."

I laughed a little and kissed her, sucking on her lower lip and then turning my attention to her neck. She wrapped her legs around me, and I felt those familiar, wonderful muscles. As usual, knowing what she wanted, I slid my hands in between her legs.

She whimpered as I slid a finger across her clit, pushing one inside of her. The sound of that familiar, happy high pitched noise in the back of her throat made me shiver. I realized her body too was experiencing quite a few tremors.

"Why are you shaking?" I wondered, brushing my free hand over her neck and collarbone, down on her breasts.

"Because I want you very badly," she said,

"How badly?" I asked.

"Shut up," she said. "Don't be an arsehole."

"What are you going to glue me naked to the wall again?" I said, pumping my finger in and out of her. She whimpered again.

"Perhaps," she said. "I think it would be… oh god… more fun this time…"

"Then maybe I should make you beg," I said.

"How about not?" she said. "Just do it Scorp."

"it's more fun this way," I pointed out.

"For you maybe," she said, groaning. "Please!"

"No," I said stubbornly.

"Fuck me you prat," she demanded.

"Ask me nicely," I said.

'I hate you," she said.

"That's a lie," I said.

"Please!" she said. "Will you just do it, please?"

"Perhaps," I said.

"Please, please," she said. "Just… Scorpius please."

I pushed inside of her, causing her to moan as I did so and then she proceeded to rake her claws down my back. It was very much like our first time together.

"Arsehole," she growled.

"You love me anyway," I said as I pulled out of her most of the way, and then pushed the rest of the way inside of her, driving further than I usually did right off the bat.

"I do…." She said. "Merlin, I love you…"

She moved her hips against me, clinging to my neck. She licked my sweat off of me, and I sucked at her neck and shoulders, giving her just as many hickeys as usual.

"I love you too," I told her. "Don't forget that."

As usual, I was not being selfish. Or at least, trying not to be. I aimed to give her an orgasm before I came myself.

She kept her hips moving, eyes closing in bliss.

She came first, falling over the edge.

"Scorpius!" she cried loudly, her hands on my shoulders. The sound of my name on her lips knocking me off with her, and I spilled myself inside of her, until I collapsed, trying to keep myself from squishing her.

"Happy birthday," she said, panting against my skin, warm breath combining with my sweat.

"Thank you," I said, sliding gently away from her, to lay beside her and wrap her up in my arms.

"I really, really do love you," she said.

"I love you too," I said, stroking her hair.

"I'm glad," she said. "It would sort of suck to love you and not have you love me."

"Tell me about it. That was my life, Rose," I said. "For months! You hated me while I loved you."

"Well I'm sorry," she said. "I'm sorry to make you miserable."

"It's okay. You're worth the wait," I teased, kissing her gently on the cheek.

"Well it's nice to hear that," she said.

"You're such a wonderful, beautiful, albeit stubborn and sometimes whiny person," I said.

"You're so romantic," she said, rolling her eyes and snuggling closer to my body. I stroked her hair some more.

"I try," I said. "I really do."

"You should write a book," she suggested. "About how to charm your woman and then uncharm her in a matter of seconds."

"Oh yes," I said. "I've completely uncharmed you at this point, I can tell. You are absolutely repulsed by the sight of me, all because I called you stubborn and occasionally whiny."

"You truly know what every girl wants to hear," she said. "You ought to go try and call another girl whiny and see how she reacts."

"See, that's why I'm lucky I have you," I said. "You don't run in the other direction when I say it."

"Not yet at least. I wouldn't push your luck, however," she said.

"As much as I truly want to," I said. "Perhaps I'll let you off the hook for the most part."

"And I shall try to be less stubborn and whiny. If I can," she said.

"I doubt you can, so I'll loveyou in spite of all of that," I said. "Or because of it. Either way."

"Either way," she said.

"I'm still quite lucky that I managed to land you, so I'll have to be careful, I suppose," I said. "You might run away again."

"it wasn't so much a run as a push," she accused.

"Pushed by Rachel," I said. "I didn't do it. Not this time."

"Oh…"she said. "Excuses, excuses."

"Shut up," I said.

"Make me," she ordered.

I kissed her, making it impossible for her to talk. She laughed and wrapped her arms around me, kissing me and pulling me closer to her.

"I love you, Rosie," I said.

"Don't call me Rosie," she said.

"Really?" I said.

"Or I'll call you Scorpius Hyperion" she said.

"Rose Nymphadora," I returned.

"Truce?" she offered.

"AH, what the hell," I said.

_Next Chapter: The Quidditch Final, Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw. _


	44. Chapter 44

**_A/N: I feel so popular (for the first time ever!) because this is being translated into both Spanish and German, courtesy of Mznickwhite and Mclover... This is awesome. Absolutely awesome. _**

Chapter 44

Rose:

I ran my hand over the desk, feeling the bumpy old wood under my fingers. The room was a good square, comfortable, warm, decorated generously with Gryffindor paraphernalia. I was going to miss this room. For the short time I had called it my own, I had grown quite accustomed to it. It was a beautiful room, and it was nice to have the key to it.

Next year, I knew it would pass into Lily's hands, and she would have access to the on file game s and plays, and the amazing notebook full of the secrets of the Gryffindor team since… well, a time even before my parents had it. She would get the quills I left Pbehind, and the bottle of scarlet ink. She would get the layer of dust that I could easily remove with a simple smell, but chose not to, because even the dust rang with nostalgia and Gryffindor pride. At least in my somewhat twisted view.

The Slytherin team beat Hufflepuff, but at this point, it could truly only be Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. Outside, the stands were filling with people taking one side or the other. Scorp was dressed as a traitor, sitting in the Gryffindor stands with Eric, supporting a rival team. The rest of Slytherin seemed to have picked Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff, despite an embarrassing defeat at our hands, took the side of Gryffindor.

And so I stood there, in my office, for the last time, before my last game at Hogwarts. Out there, waiting for me to play, were the Tutshill Tornadoes and the Pride of Portree, the only two teams left vying for me as their future chaser. My family packed into the Gryffindor stands, basking in the warm air, and the brilliant sun.

I closed my play book, starting to pull my hair back into a tight ponytail. I yanked on my gloves and walked out into my locker room.

The team was eerily quiet. We didn't know how we would fair. It could go either way. I felt, personally, that every person on my team was more talented than those on the Ravenclaw team. But there was still a chance that we could lose. Still a horrible chance.

I looked around at all of their faces, focusing on Albus, Jess and Lucy.

"All right," I said. They all looked up at the sound of my voice. I sat on a bench across from them.

"This is it," I said. "We've been here before. For one of us, this is the first Qudditch final you've ever been to." Ella smiled. "For others, this is your second. For others, it's the last. Some of you have more years ahead of you here at Hogwarts. Albus, Jess, Lucy and I only have this. And then we're done here. Let's make it a good game. One we want to remember. I know it's a lot of pressure. It's heavy. But I'm not going to tread lightly here. Losing to Ravenclaw would really… suck."

"And so that's why I'm saying this… I've had such a pleasure working with all of you. I know that sounds cheesy, but I've never seen a team with this much heart in my time here. This is my sixth year on a team, and not one team before this has had the coordination and flow that we have. You all have heart and passion for it, kind of like mine. This is a sport, this is an art. It takes talent, and passion, and dedication. It takes putting up with a tyrant of a captain like me. So I apologize for those Saturday morning practices where all you wanted to do was sleep in. I'm sorry for the snow, the mud, the rain, the sleet, and the… well we'll call it freezing rain. But let's take this opportunity to make it worth it, shall we?"

"Here here!" Jess said. Albus nodded his agreement, looking slightly green out of nerves.

"Let's obliterate them ladies, guys," I said. "I know we can do it. In fact, I know we will do it. I have absolute faith in this team. Thank you for helping me make the decision."

"Who will you be playing for, Rose?" Ella wondered.

"Wonderful question," I said. "Pride of Portree or Tutshill."

"Pride of Portree," Al contributed.

"Shut up," I told him. "Come on team. Let's get out on that field."

We walked in our formation: I was in the front, flanked by Albus and Jess, Lily and Lucy behind them, and Ella and Fred bringing up the year. We maintained our triangle, facing the large arc of the Ravenclaw team. Upon our entrance, the stands erupted. From where I was on the ground, I could see my entire family, with Scorpius and Eric one row behind them.

"Congratulations, teams, captains, on making it this far," Madame Watson said. "You have come quite a ways. Captains, Weasley and Scamander, shake hands."

I shook Lorcan's hand. He grinned at me. I grinned back. We both had 'I'm going to crush you' looks on our faces. I knew he was bringing his hard game.

"This will be a fair game," Madame Watson said. "You've all been fairly good about that, this year. But I thought I'd remind you."

Lorcan and I nodded in synch. His brother didn't play, which was probably good so that Jess didn't get distracted.

"All right," Watson said. "On my whistle…"

With Lorcan bossing his team around while guarding the goal posts—he was half the keeper Jess was—and me swooping around through mine, the game began.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and decided that I would play.

-CD-

Rose:

Madame Watson's whistle sounded shrilly as I found the ground, stumbling off my broom. Nina's magnified voice carried throughout the stands, echoing over the roars. I looked up at the abandoned goal posts, the sun shining bright in the sky, the stands pulsing with cheers and jumping fans.

The pitch grass felt good under my knees, soft under my hand. I loved pitch grass, I loved the texture, and I loved the scent, and the purely wonderful color. I loved everything about pitch grass.

My tears splashed onto the blades, building like beads of dew as they fell from my eyes onto the green.

"Rose!" Albus said. "Rose, damn it, get up, get up."

He lifted me under the armpits and pulled me until he I was standing, and he threw his arms around me.

"Rose!" he said. "Damn it, look happy! We won, we won! Why are you crying? You look like a downright prat, you know."

I laughed deranged, more tears pouring out of my eyes as I hugged him back. "Thanks, Albus. God, I love you Al. Thank you for being such a good cousin."

"Sheesh, Rose, all this for catching the snitch?"

"You're awesome and amazing, and I can't believe it…." I said.

He patted my back, entertaining my lunacy. "Thanks Rose. And you better start believing it. Because it's true. We won."

And then Jess was hugging us too, our brooms thrown somewhere, and Lucy jumped into the pile. Poor Albus was showered by our tears and hysterical laughter.

"We won," I said, laughing loudly.

Someone had the cup in their hands. They passed it over our heads, landing it in my hand. I brought it close to me, reading the names on it. Under the date, it said already "Hogwarts Cup Champions, Gryffindor" My name was under the words, _Captain, Chaser, _and underneath mine, Albus's glimmered, carved into the gold.

I held it above my head, triumphant. I didn't even notice the Ravenclaw team as they walked off the pitch, dragging their brooms behind them.

The final score was three seventy to eighty. I don't know how we did it. I could remember scoring, I could remember scoring over and over again, watching Jess block shots, and Ella and Fred shoot bludgers at Lorcan's face until they actually knocked out one of his teeth. I could see Albus suddenly catapulting to the sky, the Ravenclaw seeker behind him. But then it was over. Albus had the snitch. Nina was practically sobbing through her commentary.

"Three seventy to eighty," I said. "Twenty-two shots with the quaffle?"

"Sixteen of which were yours," Lily pointed out.

"Oh dear," I said. "I'm a Quaffle hog."

"No," Lucy contradicted. "You're just really good at getting open."

I laughed, wrapping my arms around her, jumping up and down.

A stream of red-hair and other Weasley members without the trademark, flooded the pitch. They were looking for me. Behind them came Abigail Smith, who kept her distance from Quinn Cornwall, who had been dealing with me at Tutshill.

"That was some game, Rose," Abigail awarded me.

"Thank you," I said.

"Have you made any decisions?" she wondered.

"I think I have,' I nodded.

"But…?" she said.

"Can I come back to you?" I said. "I need to talk to my family."

"Of course," she said. "You deserve to celebrate. What a phenomenal win."

"Thank you," I said, smiling at her and darting across the pitch. Before I could reach my family, who had already captured Al, Lily, Lucy and Fred, I was caught by a certain blonde-haired friend of mine.

"Rose," Scorpius said, stopping me gently.

"Hi," I said.

"Congratulations," he said, looking mightily out of place in his red and gold Rugby shirt. Out of place, but quite hot.

"Thank you," I said. "And thanks for the support."

"I figured… if I couldn't win, then it was… _okay _if you had a victory," he said, smiling crookedly at me, putting his hands on my hips.

"Well thank you," I said again, smiling up at him.

"That was a really good game,' he said. "What a victory, right?"

"Yes," I said. "I'm so glad my name is on that cup. I'm so… glad. I had to make my mark on Hogwarts, you know."

"As if you haven't made it already," he said. "You are one damn good Quidditch player, Rose Weasley."

"Well thank you, Scorpius Malfoy,' I said.

"You're more than welcome,' he said. "And you looked pretty good up there, you know. It's very attractive, the Quidditch playing."

"I love you," I said, laughing a little.

"I love you too, duck," he said.

"Dook," I mimicked.

"It's affectionate," he reminded me.

"It's… dumb," I replied. "But quite cute, I suppose."

"Shut up and let me kiss you, duck," he said.

I stretched up on my toes to kiss him, putting my arms around his neck. He grinned against my kiss, but then accepted it willingly of course. Our lips moved in a good synch, as usual, used to each other. Despite the fact that half of my close family was watching, we decided to get our tongues involved. They fought for dominance, and for once he actually let me win.

"Rose…" my father's voice interrupted. I continued to kiss Scorpius.

"Rose!" he said more loudly.

We pulled back, Scorpius perhaps pushing his luck and leaving his hands on my waist. He looked my father square in the face.

"What are you doing?" Dad demanded.

"Celebrating," I said strictly, turning around and kissing Scorpius again, drawing him close to me. He laughed a little and kissed me back, pulling me closer to him. He was walking on the wild side. One more inch and my father probably would've physically put himself between us. But from what I was told later, Mum, Uncle Harry, and Aunt Ginny all held him back. At least for the time being.

_Next Chapter: "Mr. Weasley, you can call me Scorpius..." _


	45. Chapter 45

_**A/N: 6 more chapters. 1 epilogue. First, however, young Mr. Malfoy must have a conversation with one Ronald Weasley. **_

Chapter 45:

Scorpius:

Rose left to go change into her regular clothes, leaving me to walk alone back up to the castle. It was a nice day though, warm and comfortable. The match had lasted long enough that the slew of the school was desperate to get to lunch. I was desperate to just mosey my way on up there, enjoying the good day.

I loved Scotland in the spring. There was nothing fresher or cleaner. It was direct and comfortable, and it smelled good. Flowers came up and trees sprouted leaves. The Giant Squid started to sun itself in the shallows of the Black Lake.

Amusingly enough, I passed by Rachel who was in a passionate liplock with a quite depressed Lorcan Scamander. I had been meaning to ask how their Hogsmeade not-a-date went. Apparently I didn't need to anymore. Or perhaps they had developed a relationship much like what I used to have with Rachel. Either way, she seemed content.

I was just passing a cluster of morose Ravenclaw second-years when a hand caught my shoulder. Turning quickly—always on my guard since deranged Hufflepuffs roamed the school—I found myself face to face with Ron Weasley.

"Hello," I said, a little taken aback.

"Hello," he said awkwardly. "I've been meaning to talk to you, Malfoy."

"Mr. Weasley, you can call me Scorpius," I pointed out.

He cleared his throat. "Right, Scorpius."

"Or Scorp?" I offered, not sure if it would be easier or harder for him.

"Scorpius," he said, shaking his head.

"What would you like to talk to me about, sir?" I asked cordially. As if I didn't know the answer. I believed the topic started with an R and ended with O-S-E.

"My daughter, of course," Ron Weasley said, getting a stern look on his face.

"Of course," I said.

"What are your…" he cleared his throat awkwardly, looking at the sky. I could tell he certainly hadn't had to have this conversation before. Ever. And he had no idea where to start.

"My intentions, sir?" I offered.

He nodded briskly. "Yes, what are your intentions with her? Is she just a random fling for you or do you anticipate an actual relationship with her? And what about when school ends? Does this relationship end without another word?"

"This is not a fling," I said promptly. "I don't anticipate an actual relationship with her, because I already have one. There's no need to anticipate. However, I anticipate carrying it on. I will remain in this relationship as long as we both feel that we should remain in the relationship. I don't see it ending with school, unless she wants it to end. I'm here until she orders me away at this point, sir. I would like you to know that I love your daughter."

"What do you know about love, exactly?" he wondered.

"Not much," I admitted. "But I know that I love her, and that she loves me, and that's what really matters."

"And what about this other girl that I heard you kissed?" he demanded.

"Well…" I said. "The girl is an old friend of mine and she was getting the wrong message when I comforted her over a relationship problem but… I did not want to kiss her. And if you'll look over there—" I pointed at Rachel and Lorcan. "You'll see that she clearly did not want to be kissing me."

"Is that a Scamander?" he said, eyebrows raising.

"Oh yes,' I said. "Lorcan to be exact."

"All right," Ron Weasley said. "I'll just let you know, I still don't like you very much. Maybe it's because you're a Malfoy, or maybe because I always swore to hate all of my daughter's boyfriends… but I'm not your number one fan."

"That's all right," I said. "but I really hope that it's not because I'm a Malfoy. There's quite a bit more to me than that, and even that reputation is one I neither want nor deserve. It bothers me immensely that you would hold that against me, especially if you daughter can see past it. I implore you to look past it too."

"You talk like Rose," he said. "And my wife… you know, I don't think I'd be able to tolerate it if you married Rose. The intelligence ratio would be offset."

"Well hopefully we'll be working together," I said. "I hope to get into the auror program."

"Well best of luck," he said—albeit a bit grudgingly. He definitely was not sold on the idea of me quite yet. "And I thought I'd say… well thank you for catching that spell for her."

"It was certainly… well I won't say 'my pleasure' because it was far from pleasurable," I said. "But I would do it for her anytime."

He nodded, offering his hand out to me for a shake.

I shook his hand firmly. "I hope you can keep your mind open for me, Mr. Weasley, and my family."

"I think my daughter and my wife might force me," he admitted.

I grinned. "Rose is very persuasive."

"You're telling me," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh it looks like she's coming,' I said, pointing over his shoulder, back at the pitch where Rose had emerged from the locker room.

"Yes," he said. Well he turned to me, looked at me for a moment, then drew his fist back and punched me in the face. I didn't even have a second to react.

"Oh… shit," I said, feeling my jaw scream in protest.

"And that," Ron Weasley said sternly. "Is for shagging my daughter before you married her."

I gaped at him. "Oh."

"Dad!" I heard Rose's voice screech from a distance. "Did you just _punch _him?"

"You asked for it," I grumbled as Rose's father blanched a little.

He looked at me and shrugged. "If you think I'm afraid of my own daughter…"

Though, honestly, with the look he had on his face as Rose approached, I would definitely say he was afraid of his daughter.

-CD-

Rose:

"I'm fine," Scorpius insisted. "I'm going to run and get some ice, all right? I'll see you inside?"

"Dad!" I said, whirling on my father as Scorpius headed toward the castle.

"What?" he said. "I still don't like him."

"That doesn't give you any viable reason to punch him in the face!" I shouted, putting my hands on my hips.

"Merlin you remind me of your mother," he said. "It's scary sometimes, actually."

"You better hope I don't tell Mum you just punched him," I said. "Merlin, Dad. That's my boyfriend, in case you hadn't realized.'  
"He's your boyfriend," Dad said. "Sure. But I don't like him."

"Well I like him, and therefore you can't hit him," I said.

"I can bloody well punch him if I choose," Dad said. "He is… with you… and you're not married.'  
"We're both eighteen," I replied.

"I don't think that makes any difference," he said.

"Well I'm just saying," I said. "I'm not fourteen-year-old Rose anymore."

"He bloody well should hope you're not fourteen!" he said.

"Dad," I said. "The more you use the words 'bloody well' the less intelligent you sound."

He narrowed his eyes at me. "I could still forbid you from seeing him."

"Give it a try Dad," I said. "See how well it goes."

"You've developed a bit of sass," he said. "My father wouldn't've taken back talk from me like that when I was your age."

'Dad, you'd just saved the bloody wizarding world with Mum and Uncle Harry," I said. "I think your dad would forgive you for a few things."

"You'd be surprised," he said. "Besides, Uncle Harry stole all the glory. I actually destroyed one of those horcruxes you know."

"You've said," I said, pretending to yawn. He narrowed his eyes at me.

"This is the back talk I'm talking about Rose," he said.

"Just remember Dad, this back talking child of yours will be the one paying for yours and Mum's survival when I'm a rich and famous Quidditch player, and you and Mum are retired, living on a ministry retirement plan."

"That angle is not going to work with me," Dad said.

I laughed and shook my head. "Dad, you can be protective of me, all right? It's allowed. You're my dad. But I've made some decisions here, and no matter what you think, I'm not going to go back on them. In this case, for one of the first times in my life, I am more educated about a choice than you are. I am more open minded and more ready to make my own moves here. If you choose to be equally educated and open minded, you can help me make future choices with Scorpius. But until you accept him as a Malfoy, my boyfriend, and a completely decent person, and look differently at your grudge with his family, then I will continue to keep your input at arm's length."

He stared at me for a moment.

"I would really prefer it if I did not have to hear the words 'I don't like him' in reference to my boyfriend, come out of your mouth again," I said. "It just begins to wear after a while. And if you could refrain from muggle dueling, it would be much appreciated."

"Right," Dad said, sighing gently. That was it. I knew it would take him a while to come around. He was a stubborn arse that man. And of course that was where I got it from.

"Thank you," I said, leaning in to give him a hug. No matter what he did, or how… well, there was no other word for it… _daft _he could be… he was still my father after all. He'd get over it eventually. Perhaps in a decade or two.

"Congratulations on your win, Rosie," he said finally. "That was one spectacular game."

"Thanks," I said. "We worked really hard for it, of course."

"Sometimes I wish your brother was better at Quidditch," he said thoughtfully. "You took every last drop of Quidditch blood from my bones. And all the smarts."

"Yes, I realize I've left the poor kid a lot to live up to," I said.

"Well I genuinely wonder sometimes if he's actually good at _anything," _Dad said. When I looked at him, I realized he was truly thoughtful about it.

"Dad! I think he's good at something,' I said. "He'll demonstrate after I leave. Maybe he'll be an auror."

"Maybe," Dad said. "Or perhaps he'll surprise us all."

"And what, become a Seer?" I said.

"I doubt there's even an ounce of that in our genes," Dad said. "Your mother… well don't get her started on that class. But I told you. It was definitely good for a laugh, that class. Or a nap. Or a little of both. After nap comedy, if you will."

"We definitely had our fair few of those," I said. "We used to stare at those astrology charts for hours trying to come up with good predictions. That woman gave one hundreds for everything."

"The more gruesome the better," Dad said.

"Exactly," I said.

"Did she pick someone to die in your class?" he wondered.

"Scorpius," I said. "She said he was going to fall off of his broomstick and break his neck. Interestingly enough, he did fall off of his broomstick during the next Quidditch match. But that was more because he got knocked off by a vicious Ravenclaw beater… It was direct bat to player contact. McGonagall slowed his fall in the air before he could actually die. And the game was postponed for a week, until Scorpius stopped seeing bludgers and stars every time he closed his eyes. Or at least that was what was happening according to James and Albus. I didn't really like Scorpius back then, so I wasn't too upset by the accident."

"Yes I'm wondering," Dad said. "How did you go from bitter rivals and competition to a relationship."

"Long story," I said. "I think the attraction was always there." How did I tell him "Dad, we were enemies, then fuck buddies, and then things sort of took off?" Oh right. I just said long story. If there was anything in the world my father hated more than my boyfriend, it was a long story.

_Next Chapter: "Does youre definition of a kegger necessitate a keg?" _


	46. Chapter 46

**_A/N: Ugh. _**

Chapter 46:

Scorpius:

I'd been to Quidditch Cup after-parties before. I'd been to Slytherin ones, at least. But I'd never, in nearly seven complete years at Hogwarts, been to a Gryffindor one. The password had changed, so thankfully I caught Albus outside the portrait. He let me in and I scrambled through the hole to find Rose.

Which was, shockingly, difficult, it appeared. The common room was in full party swing. Every single seventh year, whether on the Quidditch team or not, was already completely messed up with alcohol. I hadn't taken note of Albus, but I realized he must've been a bit tipsy at that point. The first years were starting to get their party legs, but many of them looked much more eager to go to bed. They didn't get the appeal of a common room party, and they shouldn't get it yet.

"Hey!" Rose's voice called across the common room. She danced across the room, offering me a red plastic cup.

"Is this a kegger?" I wondered.

"A kegger?" she echoed, seeming a little less off the deep end than Jess, who… well. She was obviously drunk.

I looked at Rose expectantly.

"That depends. Does your definition of a kegger necessitate a keg?" she wondered.

"Yes," I said.

"Then… no this isn't a kegger," she said, laughing and taking my hand. "Come on. Everyone is dancing. Gryffindors, you see… we like to dance."

"I can see that," I said, following her into the common room turned dance floor.

"Do Slytherins like to dance?" she wondered, sliding closer to me arms, winding up around my neck.

"With pretty, sexy Gryffindors,' I replied, kissing her neck gently.

"Oh I see," she said. "Maybe it's not a dancing thing when it's us Gryffindors. Maybe it's just a lot of very hard partying that results in quite a few drunk people dancing."

I dropped my empty cup on a table and put both of my hands on her waist, drawing her closer to me. She finished her cup and abandoned it too, sliding very close.

"I'm a horrible dancer," I informed her.

"So am I," she said. "It's okay."

"You're too… good looking to be bad at dancing," I said, kissing her lips again.

"I love you," she said, putting her hands on my shoulders.

"I love you too," I said, my hands sliding lower until one of them wasn't quite on her back anymore.

"How is your face?" she wondered.

"It's fine," I said. "It doesn't hurt anymore. I went to the kitchens to get some ice, and then looked up a spell to calm the swelling. I thought it was easier than trying to explain to Madame Pomfrey what exactly had happened."

"Well thank you for not running to her and being like 'Ron Weasley punched me in the face!'" she said, laughing a little.

"I wouldn't," I said. "It was completely justified.'  
"My father is never justified," she said. "You best learn that so you can take my side in the future."

"Rose I'd be too afraid to take anyone's side but yours. I'm shocked your father even chances it," I said.

"That's what Mum says…" she said, laughing a little. "I suppose that makes sense. I'm thinking there isn't a family argument that I've lost since I was fifteen…"

"I would hate to be your parents," I said.

"Good thing you get to be my boyfriend," she said, laughing a little.

"yes, I think that I prefer this role. There is still a chance I might win and argument or two…" I said.

"What chances are these?" she asked. "I didn't know there were any chances."

"You'll see," I said. "I'll win one."

"One," she said. "I suppose I can let you win one."

She wrapped her arms around me and pressed her nose against my chest.

"Oh, damn," I said, sniffing her hair.

"What?" she wondered.

"You just smell good," I said.

"I was safely using our wonderful bathroom," she said, laughing a little.

"I see," I said, as Albus, Eric and Jess sort of stumbled past us, looking… well less than sober. They sort of created a massive dancing pile in the dance floor, because Jess's usual dancing partner was mourning the loss of the cup with the rest of his house.

"How do the teachers not hear this music?" I demanded. The bass was thudding so hard that the chips in the snack table were bouncing with every beat.

"Albus and I perform some complex silencing charms we were taught by Roxanne and James, who used be in charge of that area. We're passing the knowledge onto Fred and another sixth year," she said. "We'll teach them on the last day of the year."

"That takes some talent," I said.

"I know," she said, grinning. "They wouldn't hear it if they were standing outside the portrait hole."

"Well that is a good thing," I said. "I imagine McGonagall would strip us of our posts, even this late in the year, for condoning such a wild rager like this…."

"Rager?" she said, looking up at me speculatively.

"Yes, Rager," I replied, laughing. "But if not for that, for the sheer number of drunk underage students here. _Where _does this alcohol come from?"

"Ask Nina, she's the one that gets it," she said.

"Nina?" I said. "Perhaps the most innocent of your three friends?"

"Have you met Lucy?" she said pointing to the right. "She's drinking water."

I laughed. "Point taken. But still. I would've expected it from Jess perhaps, or even just from you. But not from Nina."

"Who does it for the Slytherins?" she wondered.

"Paul," I said.

"See that I _would've _expected," she said thoughtfully, stretching up to kiss me on the lips again. I pulled her closer to me, burying my nose under her hair, into her neck.

-CD-

Rose:

I slid away from Scorpius. He was asleep in my bed because he didn't feel like taking his chances walking back to his common room. Teachers usually didn't stop them, but he figured he was more likely to get into trouble if he was drunk.

I walked over to the window, looking out at the blue night. Across the grounds, the Quidditch pitch stood, swathed in moonlight. I was going to miss it. It was the place I got my real start. I'd spent years convincing my cousins to play with me, to let me on their teams, despite being much younger than they were. James and I were the best chasers. When we made real teams of seven and people used to scoop him up, and then they would find me usually last picked, because Lily didn't even _want _to play she was so little at that point.

And then it would end up being me versus James, and I would usually score more than he did, him shooting against Vic, who was the best keeper in the family, and then me shooting on Teddy, who was the Ravenclaw keeper—he was honestly the only one in our massive family that wasn't in Gryffindor. It probably had to do with him not actually having the Weasley blood that tainted the rest of us.

I wondered if they were surprised when they found out I was going to play professionally. I doubted. At some point, I turned the age where the captains of our family games started fighting for me to be their chaser. It always pissed James off. But then, one day, in his seventh year, he turned to me and said 'Okay, okay, you win. You're the best chaser in the family." I'd never been so proud of myself. Perhaps it was sad to feel that way, but it was true.

So much had happened on that pitch. I'd bled on it and thrown up on it. I'd broken an arm at the mercy of a bludger, and I'd done a flip over my broom handle several times, causing James to have a freak out when I fell ten feet from the air, because we had a match the next day.

I pressed my nose on the glass. Maybe Hogwarts would have an alumni game at some point. I would willingly come play for them. They had one in my first year, and Jess's dad, Uncle Harry, and Aunt Ginny played. Dad would've played keeper, but then when he found out that the pro, Oliver Wood, wanted to play, he sort of just stepped to the side, figuring it was in the Gryffindor alumni team's best interest to step down.

Needless to say, Gryffindor won. They beat Slytherin in their own final, Uncle Harry snatching the snitch two feet below Draco Malfoy's broom.

I laughed a little to myself.

"Rose?" Scorpius asked, rolling over onto his side to look at me.

"Hey," I said, smiling at him.

"What are you doing?" he wondered, stretching a hand out for me.

"Looking at my pitch," I said.

"Your pitch?" he echoed.

"If anyone has a right to it, I think I do," I said.

"I suppose you're right," he said. "At least in this year."

He patted the bed next to him.

'I'm going to miss playing against you," I said thoughtfully. "I'm going to miss your face when we beat you."

"If you'll recall, in October we beat you…" he reminded me, kissing my shoulder around my tank top. "But I'm going to miss playing against you too, Rose. You're always good competition. And might I say, quite fun to beat.

"Well thank you," I said. "I could say the same about you.'

He pulled me so that I was sitting across his lap. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I said.

"So those aren't little tears because you're going to miss playing at Hogwarts?" he wondered, touching his fingertips up by the corner of my eyes.

"No, my eyes are watering because I'm tired," I said, reaching my hand up to make sure I was telling the truth. I wasn't.

"Oh I see," he said, laughing a little. "But you are going to miss it?"

"Yes," I said. "Now I don't have to be good for the satisfaction of winning. I have to be good because… well, my job depends on it."

"Rose, I don't think you could be bad at Quidditch if you tried to be. I have a feeling it goes against the grain," he said, laughing a little and running his hand down my arm.

"I suppose you're right," I said. "I wouldn't let myself try to be bad at Quidditch.'

"My point exactly."

He kissed my forehead. "You're going to be amazing. People are going to be putting your poster up on their walls, announcing that you're their favorite pro player."

"I hope so," I said.

"I imagine you'll look good in purple," he said thoughtfully.

_Next Chapter: 'It's only Nastily Exhausting for lesser minds than ours." _


	47. Chapter 47

**_A/N: It's so weird that this is drawing to a close... I started it in December... took a really long break and then finished it... but still. 48, 49, 50, 51 and the Epilogue left. _**

Chapter 47:

Rose:

"I think we ought to play the Imperial March," I suggested.

"What?" Scorpius said.

"Did you have absolutely no muggle influence in your life?" I demanded.

"No?" he said.

"Do you know what _Star Wars _is?" I wondered.

"No… should I?What is Star Wars?" he said.

"A movie," I said.

"A movie?" he prompted.

"You're teasing me now," I said, throwing my hands up in the air. "You learned about that in your one year of Muggle Studies, don't lie to me!"

"Okay. I know what a movie is," he said, laughing. "But what is _Star Wars _and why would we be playing this… _Imperial March?" _

"The Imperial March is what they play every time the bad guy comes on screen," I explained, gesturing at the Entrance Hall where the NEWT and OWL examiners were stumping inside behind professor McGonagall.

"You cannot tell me you're afraid of these people," he said, leaning back against the Slytherin table, fanning himself with a Quidditch magazine.

"You look so casual," I said. "See the thing you fail to see here, Scorpius, is that I could fail every single one of these exams and I would still have a job after Hogwarts. You, on the other hand, could fail all of them and be left to clean the stadiums after I play Quidditch matches. Think of it that way."

He narrowed his eyes at me. "First, Rose, I will not fail. Second, nor will you. You won't let me beat you."

"No, you're right," I allowed sighing. "I think it's just the name… Nastily Exhausting. That does not have the ring of fun to it, does it?"

"Oh, Rose," he said, putting an arm around me and laughing. "It's only Nastily Exhausting for lesser minds than ours."

"So modest," I teased, kissing his cheek. "Come on. McGonagall wanted them to meet us. Head Boy and Head Girl you know. Put on your robe, you look like a slob."

He rolled his eyes and pulled his robe on, following me to the entrance hall. We shook the hands of every wizened and/or crippled witch and wizard from the ministry, come to examine us.

"Oh these are your promising students, aren't they Minerva!" the head examiner cheered delightedly.

"Well…" McGonagall said, looking at us. "I suppose yes. Except one of them is about to sign her life away to a Quidditch team."

They all stared at me, in shock.

"Maybe we'll change her mind," the head examiner said, winking at me.

"Right…" I said. "Maybe you will." Scorpius laughed. We both knew they wouldn't.

"What exams are you taking?" they wondered.

"Well…" I said. "We're taking Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Arithmancy, Ancient Ruins… and… I think that's it."

"Most of that seems to be the makings of an auror," the head examiner accused.

"That is my goal," Scorpius said.

"Well then!" the examiner said, clapping his hands. "We'll see what we can do for you."

"All right," Scorpius said, smiling.

-CD-

Rose:

I stared at the back of Lucy's head. Her hair, darker red than mine, glimmered in the sunlight floating in through the windows of the Great Hall. Around me, people continued to scribble their answers. There were still ten minutes left. I had finished five minutes ago. A row or two over, Scorpius was reclined on the back two legs of his chair, apparently napping. It was Transfiguration. His worst subject. I wondered if he'd checked his work. As much as I wanted to be the supportive girlfriend… well I sort of wanted him to get less than perfect.

At the beginning of the row to my right, Eric was reading over his parchment. Not too far away from me, and several seats behind him, Jess had dropped her quill again. Nina was in front of Scorpius, writing still, and not too far away from the rest of us, Albus was examining his quill in the sunlight.

"Make sure you check over your work," Proctors spouted at us from all directions.

This was the morning. We had the practical this afternoon. We'd been through all but Ancient Ruins, which was all we had tomorrow, and then Friday, we had Defense Against the Dark Arts practical and written. Then we were done.

I doodled on my scrap of parchment, waiting patiently. My mind had not yet exploded from exams. When they said Nastily Exhausting, they didn't mean difficult. They meant so boring you actually became brain dead without realizing it.

When the hour glass ran out, the examiner called from the front of the room. "Please roll up your answer parchment and close your test booklet. The exam is over." Before a couple of kids had taken their quills off the paper, he waved his wand, drawing the answers all the way up the room toward him. They stacked neatly on the desk next to the hour glass. With another wave of his wand, he had all of the question books. I yawned, pushing away from my desk.

"Well that… was not bad," Lucy said from in front of me.

"Tell me about it," I said, reaching out for Scorpius's hand as he approached.

"I'm insulted," he announced when I caught his hand in mine.

"Why is that?" I wondered.

"Because if they actually thought that was difficult, then they clearly underestimate our intelligence," he said, shaking his head. "I'm wondering if I should be worried about the practical."

"I hate to burst your bubble, but Transfiguration is your worst subject,' I said. "You're good at the theory behind it… but the execution…"

"Rose, Rose," he said. "It may be my worst subject, but I'm not bad at it."

"I suppose that is true," I said, laughing a little. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my neck as we moved with the crowd.

"So what do you think? After lunch do we study for an hour, or do we relax our brains?"  
"I'm relaxing," I said.

"This is why I like you," he said, putting his arm around my waist.

"Hey Jess!" I said, catching my friend as she went to go meet with Lysander. "Did you drop your quill enough?"

"I swear, it was slippery,' she complained.

"Wow," I said. "That's really sad."

"I hate you," she said.

"Jess, the whole hall noticed it," I pointed out.

"Lysander!" she yelled, finding her half of the twins.

Scorpius laughed, and we headed off to lunch.

-CD-

Scorpius:

Rose and I sat side-by-side outside of the practical Transfiguration exams. I was next. She still had many names ahead of her before they got to Rose Weasley.

"Scorpius Malfoy?" One of the examiners called my name.

"Good luck," Rose said. "Tell me how it is?"

"Will do," I said, walking past my waiting classmates into the room.

"All right, Mr. Malfoy," the examiner said. "I witnessed your Charms practical yesterday, and I must say I was quite impressed. So I have high hopes for you. Would you say you're more confident with this class than Charms?'

"Oh no," I said. "I'm going to be honest with you, Transfiguration is my worst subject."

The examiner frowned. "Come now! Show me your most complicated skill! Then we'll get on with the exam."

I frowned now too. "If you'll step away from your desk?" I said. He smiled and stepped away. I waved my wand silently and the desk changed itself abruptly into a Hippo.

The examiner stared. "His worst subject, he says… Mr. Malfoy, I would like to see you at your best."

"Perhaps you will tomorrow," I said. "Defense."

"Ah, of course," he said. "Oh dear… well. I cannot wait to see that, truly. Now, why don't you change my desk back—you can change it back, correct?"

I waved my wand and it turned back.

"And we'll continue with the exam. Without speaking, can you turn this rabbit into a floor lamp? I don't even know why I'm asking… "

-CD-

Scorpius:

"Well that was amusing," Rose commented when she found me by the lake after her practical.

"Oh?" I said.

"Well I was asked to turn a beetle into a diamond ring so she could judge it on clarity, and honestly, I could not understand. The examiner. She wheezed through everything. I could've sworn to you she said porch swing… and I was thinking okay, the size is really off on this, I don't know if I'll be able to do it. So I checked with her. And she apparently can't hear either and just nodded saying 'yes that's what I said.' But I did, without speaking. And she was like 'oh you thought I said porch swing… well that is phenomenal. I said diamond ring." So I turned the swing into a ring. And she let me keep the ring, because she said she'd never seen one so pretty. And that she didn't want it to go to waste. And she assured me that, as communication is not a Trasnfiguration skill, our little slips would not affect my grade."

"You turned a beetle into a porch swing?" I echoed.

"Yes," she said.

"Oh Merlin," I said, laughing. "Sizes were a little odd, were they?"

"Yes," she said. "I didn't know if it would actually work successfully…"

"But of course you did it," I said.

She settled next to me on the grass, under the shade of the massive tree. I put an arm around her and she leaned against my side.

"What a wonderful day,' she said. "Would it be too cocky to say now that I feel I got an outstanding?"

"Don't count your dragons before they hatch," I warned her like a mum.

"Yes, yes," she said, ready with her usual comeback to that line. "but there appear to be a lot of eggs."

I grinned at her, kissing her cheek. She shed her robe, throwing it to the side of the grass. She loosened her Gryffindor tie, and pulled her sleeves up.

"I want to put my feet in the water," she said, pulling off her shoes and then following them with her stockings. She was good at keeping the entire school from seeing her panties, but she did give me a nice view.

"Don't tempt me, Weasley," I said as she tossed her stockings on top of her shoes. She waltzed to the edge of the lake, and I followed her as she dipped her feet right into the water.

"Oh it's so warm!" she said happily letting the gentle waves lap at her feet.

I put my arms around her. "Do you want to go for a walk?'

"I think that sounds wonderful," she said. "I'm not putting shoes on."

"All right," I said kissing her cheek again.

We walked hand in hand around the bend in the lake, finally hidden from the view of the castle. The edges of the forest, the part where everyone went when they wanted peace and quiet, was brightly lit with the late afternoon, early evening sun. it was golden and full of life, tall weeds, magical and otherwise, stretching toward the sky. She grabbed a reed of purple flowers, winding it into her hair gently.

"You looke like a driad," I told her.

"Thank you," she said, the wild mane of her hair billowing in the light breeze. I wasn't sure if I was insulting her or not anymore, the way she replied. I wasn't sure if I _wanted _to insult her.

"I love you," I told her.

"I love you too," she said, smiling at me over her shoulder, she grabbed my hand and pulled me around a tree, until we emerged on the banks of the lake, looking across the shimmering golden water at the castle.

"it's beautiful," she said, slipping closer to me.

"I agree," I said. "I'm really going to miss this place."

"Well, we just need to make the most of it while we're still here," she said, snuggling against my chest.

"I've never been out here before," I said. "I'm glad you brought me here."

"I used to study here for final exams," she murmured. "I'm glad I brought you here too."

She stretched up and kissed me again.

_Next Chapter: "I'm getting all girly and nostalgic now..." _


	48. Chapter 48

**_A/N: Only four more updates... _**

Chapter 48:

Rose:

"Are you honestly already packing?" I demanded of Nina. "We have a week!"

"A week," she said. "And I'm trying to make sure I've returned all of my library books."

Actually, it was probably a good thing. She was a notorious book hoarder. I wouldn't be surprised if she found books from her first year tucked under her mattress.

We were all sprawled on our beds. It was too hot to be outside. We just finished exams and I was dying. Scorpius was down at the pitch cleaning up his office. I'd done what I had to do in my office a few days ago, so I remained prone on my bed, trying to cool off my back, which had gotten sunburned walking around after the Ancient Ruins exam.

One bed over, Jess and Lysander were both napping, but she'd made him go to the very edge of the bed so that their hot bodies were not touching each other. Lucy was reading _Witch Weekly, _Angie was writing to her Durmstrang boyfriend, and Nina was sitting on the floor, digging for hidden library books.

"I can't believe we're almost done with Hogwarts," Nina said. "We'll have to get together to announce our plans for next year. Hopefully we'll all get letters soon…"

Nina was headed for magical law, and Lucy wanted to deal with magical beasts. Jess was hoping to be a healer. Albus and Scopius were awaiting letters from the auror department, while Eric was looking to work for Gringotts, and Rachel hoped to be a healer too. I was choosing a Quidditch team. Or well… I had chosen but needed to send the letters and have the meetings.

"You all know where I'll be," I said.

"You decided?" Nina said.

"I think I decided as soon as I went there," I said, rolling onto my back and fanning myself with a Quidditch magazine I stole from Scorpius.

"You need to let them know," Nina said. "They said you could speak to them through a fire."

"Nina, it's like a hundred degrees. I don't want to stick my head in a fire, if it's all the same to you," I complained.

"Rose, this is about your future," Nina said. "I'll fan your arse while you're in the fire."

"Fine!" I grumbled, sitting bolt upright.

She followed me as I stomped through the Hogwarts halls in the direction of Professor MacMillan's office—he told me I could use his fireplace when I decided on my team.

He let us on into his room, and I seized the flower pot, fisting a ton of Floo Powder and got on my knees.

"Tutshill Tornadoes Quidditch Stadium," I said clearly, dropping the green sparkly powder into the fire. I was sucked forward through the green flame, which was far too warm for comfort.

"Miss Weasley!" I was greeted excitedly. "I take it you've made your decision."

I coughed up a little soot, cursing Nina for trying to run my life.

"Yes, yes," I said spluttering. I could actually feel Nina fanning the back of my legs obnoxiously.

"And?"

"Well…" I said. 'I think I'm going to have to decline your offer. Thank you so much for showing interest in me. This has been an amazing experience, and The Tornadoes are an amazing team I would've been quite lucky to be a part of."

"Oh," he said. "yes… well. Thank you for considering us."

"Of course," I said. "Thank you for considering me. I look forward to playing you in the future."

He frowned at that, and I wondered if that was the wrong closing statement.

"Thank you," I said, spluttering out of the fire.

"How'd it go?" Nina wondere,d leaning against the legs of one of MacMillan's chairs.

"It was fine…" I said. "Now for the real deal." I grabbed another fistful of powder. "Portree Quidditch Stadium, Portree, Isle of Skye."

I was sucked back through the fire into the office of Abigail Smith.

"How are you?" she wondered, not even looking up at my dramatic, coughing entrance.

"I'm good, I'm good,' I said. "How are you?"

"Wonderful," she said, smiling at me. "Have you made a decision?"

"Yes I have," I said. "I would like to sign with Pride of Portree."

"Yes, I thought you might," she said. "I knew you would from the first time we spoke, actually.'

"Oh…" I said, laughing.

"I've just been waiting for you to say yes, at this point," she said. "So we'll have to meet to sign… but for now… take this…"

She picked up a penant, off of her desk, as well as a set of robes, which were folded gently next to them.

"We like to give you these as a glad to hear you'll be signing with us gift," she said. "You'll be getting a couple more sets of Portree robes before the whole shebang is done, but this is just the beginning. I'll send you an owl to schedule a meeting after you're finished with school. Does that sound good. Training will start this summer."

I nodded. "That sounds wonderful."

"Can you imagine that a year from now, Rose, you will certainly be moving up to play first string on the Pride of Portree team?" she said. "There's no question. We'd have you play up there now if we didn't want to get rid of one of our starting chasers."

"Thank you," I said. I wondered if she knew how completely in awe I still was of all of this.

"It was my pleasure," she said smiling at me. "Have a good day Rose."

"You too," I said, ducking out of the fire. I came back into Hogwarts, turning to Nina.

"What'd she give you?" she wondered, taking the robes from my hand. She flipped them over to see the back. The name "Weasley" was printed above the number "3" on the back. Three was the number given to the head chaser, one being for the seeker and two for the keeper. At least, that was how Portree always did it. On the front, was the classic Pride of Portree star on the front, and "Pride of Portree" in big letters, with the words "Reserve" underneath.

"I am… completely blissful right now," I said.

"As you should be," Nina said, clapping me on the shoulder.

-CD-

Scorpius:

"Is this really what we accumulated after a year?" I heard Eric's exasperated voice as I returned from cleaning out my captain's office in the Slytherin locker room.

"Yes," I said gravely, walking through the door and depositing a pile of unclean Quidditch robes into the laundry pile.

"That's repulsive," he said, kicking an unidentified object into the corner.

"We're teenage boys," I said. "It's expected that we be slobs."

Paul rolled onto his back where he was sprawled on his bed.

"Why do you guys care so much?" he demanded. "I'll pack in six days."

'We leave in seven," Eric said.

"I know," Paul said. "I only need a day."

"Well then you can sit in here tidying up your quarter of the dormitory while the rest of us hang out on the lawn with our girls—or guys—and laze in the sun, enjoying our last blissful days of Hogwarts," Steve said.

Paul said. "Shut up, Steve. No one likes you. Guys, I think we ought to share that with Stephen now. We've certainly kept it from him for the past seven years."

Steve through a wadded up ball of mismatched socks at him.

"No, Paul," I said. "The one no one likes is you."

"That is true," Eric agreed.

"Hate to break it to you, mate," Steve said, shaking his head.

"I can't believe I don't have to put up with you all ever again seven days from now," Paul said as if seven days was such a long time.

"You're going to miss us," I assured him.

"As long as they send me to the jungle, I'm not going to miss any of you. Believe me," he said. He was headed in a more philanthropic direction than the rest of us. Much like the Muggle Peace Corps, in fact. He was going to go provide magical assistance to third world countries who hadn't been as privileged to utilize magic in the way that the students in Great Britain and the rest of Europe had. They were builders and educators. That was what Paul said repeatedly.

"You'll probably end up in the jungle," I said.

"Or the desert,' he said. "I really hate the desert."

"You've never been to the desert," Steve reminded him.

"I've been to bloody Egypt!" Paul said.

I met Eric's eyes as the two of them bickered to no end. Like an old married couple.

"I found a couple of your books, Scorp," he said, tossing some books onto my bed.

"Thanks," I said, tucking them into my book pile.

"Damn I'm going to miss this place," Eric said thoughtfully. "I didn't hate school all that much."

"I don't either," I said.

"You know," he said. "You like it because you're good at it. I like it because… well have you looked at the place?"

"Yes I have," I said, grinning at him. 'it's a pretty big arse castle."

He laughed. "Yeah. It is. Are you going to miss it?"

"Hell, yeah," I said. "I'm going to miss the people. I'm… going to miss my dormmates." At that moment, Steve had Paul hanging upside down in the air. "Or at least you."

Eric grinned. 'it's been a fun seven years."

"I'm getting all girly and nostalgic now," I complained, laughing.

He shrugged. "I'm just remembering how the first night you wouldn't tell anyone your name, even though we'd all heard it at the Sorting anyway. But there was just something. Either you didn't like Scorpius or you didn't want anyone knowing you were Malfoy… but it took a good hour to weasel it out of you."

"it was both. Both the Scorpius and the Malfoy," I said. "I hate my mother for the name, I really do."

"I would too," he assured me. "But then we all started getting along. Despite the fact that you discovered with a book how to silence Paul and Steve, and that was when things started getting fun."

"Until they went silently whining to Zabini and I landed detentions for three days because of it," I said.

"And we'd always sneak out to the Forbidden Forest," Eric said. "Why did we do that, by the way? We weren't exactly welcome."

"The centaurs never actually trampled us," I said. "They just threatened."  
"Empty threats," he agreed.

"And then divination," I said, laughing a little. "We'd sit here for hours, unable to finish that homework, because we had no idea what was actually happening when Mars and Venus bumped into each other."

"How did you get an E on that?" he wondered.

"I got really good at making things up," I said. "I read a lot about it, realized it was a load of tosh, and then figured out how to make it look like educated tosh."

"I got a bloody P on that," he said, shaking his head. "You could've given me some tips."

"It didn't help that you fell asleep in class," I said.

"How could you not in a room that warm?" he demanded.

"I shot stinging jinxes at my toes," I said.

"You really went out of your way to help me out in that class, didn't you?" he said.

"Who bloody well cares? It was divination. The sole reason we took that class was for a laugh," I said.

"That is true," he said. "Though you know that damn P looked really bad on my results card. My mum started laughing. She thought it was hysterical. I told her to go and try and find something out of the fog in those blasted crystal balls. It actually shut her right up…"

_Next Chapter: "You were paralleled by none, save for each other. And yet you were two of _the most _self-centered individuals..." _


	49. Chapter 49

**_A/n: Do you want me to update everyday until the end, or still space it out? I don't want to rush it, but at the same time... _**

Chapter 49:

Rose:

Scorpius put his arm around my waist as we walked down the Hogwarts halls.

"We own this school," he informed me.

"Yes, yes we do," I agreed.

"We're so power hungry," he said, laughing. "You would've done well in Slytherin."

"Thank you," I said.

"I'm not saying you belong there. Just that you'd have survived," he said, shrugging.

"Exactly," I said. "I think that the Sorting Hat does a pretty good job. At least in my opinion."

"I agree," he said. "I am a Slytherin. I recognize that. And in this day and age, it's not really a bad thing to be a Slytherin. People got over it."

"People always get over things," I said, thinking of my father and his attitude toward the Malfoys.

We stopped in front of McGonagall's office, giving him a cue with my eyes to say the password.

"Licorice wand," he said. The gargoyle moved out of the way, and I moved to step on the top of the three stairs. He slid up behind me. It was like the beginning of the year, when I could feel his breath on my neck, how he was taller, and muscular… How did I not know I was attracted to him then? I was utterly oblivious, or perhaps just unwilling to see the truth. That seemed likely to me.

This time, he put his arms around my waist, pressing his face into my shoulder as we rode the staircase up to the top. I didn't have the urge to kick him in the balls or stamp on his feet.

We got to the top of the staircase, and the door swung open just as I lifted my hand to knock.

McGonagall, still ancient, still hunched over and wrinkled, and very stern, sat behind her desk, peering over her spectacles at the _Daily Prophet. _

"Hello," she said. "Have a seat, have a seat."

Scorpius and I sat down, smiling brightly at our headmistress.

"What a year…" she said thoughtfully, setting her paper down and folding her hands in front of her.

"I agree completely," I said, laughing a little. Scorpius grinned, chuckling a bit.

"I can see things have changed quite a bit since the beginning of the school year," she said. "And I can see that making you head boy and girl was the best choice of my career. On the first day of classes, I thought the two of you were going to lunge over the arms of your chairs and start a duel. Such animosity. Such competition. And then, of course, when the bathroom started to drop hints to you, you were furious… And look at you now. Perhaps you're the closest couple Hogwarts has.

"Of course my plans for you two had certainly not been to force you into a relationship, and that result is perhaps the one that I care the least about in terms of what I've seen this year. You two came into this school year as the brightest minds Hogwarts has seen in decades. You were paralleled by no one, save for each other. And yet, you were two of the most self-centered individuals.

"Harsh as that might sound, it was true. You only wanted to win, win for yourselves and no one else. I'm not going to say that you were bad people, because neither of you are bad people. You are amazing people, and exceptional role models… but you had to work out some of your self-interests. You needed to learn how to tolerate each other, get over old grudges and lingering competition… because you weren't going to get anywhere else.

"You are the best role models this school has. You do not have perfect records, obviously, but that's almost better. People who get into trouble have more respect for people that know how to get into trouble. You, Mr. Malfoy, with your wanderings of the hallways and sometimes the Forbidden Forest, and you, Miss Weasley, with similar habits. And then of course your returned expressions of the need to duel in the middle of the hallway in front of the entire school… well it's okay... I suppose."

She smiled at both of us. "My have you matured since your first year. Actually, since the beginning of this year. I do not regret my decision in the least."

"Well thank you," I said.

"Yes, thank you," Scorpius said, winking at me.

"I always thought it was so strange that you two tied on everything," McGonagall continued. "I think you just have very similar, similar brains."

"I think we do," I said, smiling at Scorpius.

"So as for after school," she said. "I think I will keep my eyes on both of you. You will both do great things. Whether it be on the Quidditch pitch, or in the auror office…"

"If I get in," Scorpius pointed out.

"Why on earth shouldn't you, I ask?" McGonagall demanded. "if they don't let a student with your capabilities into the auror program then they will be on the receiving end of some of Minerva McGonagall's most strongly worded letters."

I laughed a little at the passion in her eyes. She was, perhaps, the hardest to ruffle woman that ever walked this earth, but if you touched on something she felt strongly about, all talons and teeth were bared.

"And you, Miss Weasley, if you decide that Quidditch is not your path, will almost definitely be accepted into any Ministry position you choose," she said. "They'll just have to look once at your school record to open the door widely for you and flourish your way on in. So I hope you still put forth effort on your NEWTs."

"She couldn't possibly slack for fear that I might actually scrape out a grade higher than hers," Scorpius explained.

"So to answer your question, Professor, yes, I did put forth effort on my NEWTs," I explained.

"And you both found them quite simple, didn't you?" she said thoughtfully.

"Yes," I said and the same time as Scorpius.

Professor McGonagall just laughed. "Only you two would say that the Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests were easy…"

-CD-

Scorpius:

"We're leaving tomorrow!" Rose said miserably as we headed back to the dormitories to make sure our laundry had come back. "For good!"

"Oh yes, you can never come back again," I said, kissing her on the nose. "Hey, don't worry about it love. We're going to move onto amazing things."

"I love you," she said, putting her arms around me.

"I love you too," I said, spinning her in a circle. "I'll see you at that feast, love, all right? Don't get too down. We still have tonight. And then the whole train ride back tomorrow… just to be sad about missing Hogwarts."

"Sad about missing Hogwarts, too lazy to boss prefects around… the usual," she said, kissing me quickly. "All right. I'll see you down at the feast. To accept that House cup on behalf of my house…"

"I don't know," I said. "Those hour glasses have been awfully close lately."

"You'll see," she said, shaking her head and turning to head up a secret passageway.

I shook my head and headed down the stairs, past the hour glasses with the jewels. I already knew who was going to win.

Back in my dorm room, all of my robes were laid out on the bed, brought up by the elves after they were washed. The windows were open to air out the room, and the place was the neatest it had been since the very beginning of the school year. I flipped my trunk open, already packed full of school books and Quidditch t-shirts. I piled in the laundered robes and the emerald robes from Quidditch, closing the trunk with my broom on top of it. I grabbed a tie hanging around one of the posts of my bed. Tying it around my neck, I donned that and my robes, making sure I looked pretty neat for the end of the year feast.

My Quidditch captain's badge glimmered, bright green, on the side of my chest opposite the Slytherin emblem. The other badge, shining with the colors of the Hogwarts crest, was larger and pinned higher, a testament to my titles this year. I smiled gently. I couldn't help but be proud of myself. Pride was inevitable.

Sighing gently, I combed my hair and headed out to join the rest of my classmates and younger peers as we trodded down the stairs to the last feast of the year, and for some of us, the last feast we would ever have as students at Hogwarts.

I sat between Eric and Rachel at the Slytherin table. There was no inter-house mixing on nights like this. The excitement and sadness was tangible in the air. I looked over at the Gryffindor table, Rose, Albus, Jess and Nina together sitting comfortably, laughing at something, relishing their last feast too…

No one knew who had won the cup yet, and the heads of house, Zabini, Longbottom, MacMillan and Davies, were all looking along the table at each other, looking expectantly at McGonagall.

"Before we commence this wonderful feast," McGonagall said. "Let me say that I have never once enjoyed a school year this much. You are wonderful students, you took great leaps and bounds this year, and I cannot wait to have most of you back next year.

"But to my seventh years. I have had a great run with you. You are all amazing students who will go on to do great things. I will look for all of your names in the Prophet, of course, for good things, and I will look you up. I'm proud of all of you.

"Finally, one last thing. The awarding of the House Cup. All points were final as of five o'clock. And the positions stand as follows: In fourth place with three-hundred-sixty-three points, Ravenclaw. In third place, with three-hundred-ninety-eight points, Hufflepuff. In second place, coming in a close second with a score of four-hundred-twenty-seven points, Slytherin."

I started to clap for my house, commending the Gryffindors for their ability to remain calm despite their win.

"And in first place, with four-hundred-thirty points, just a three point lead over Slytherin, Gryffindor," McGonagall said.

Rose's table all rose to its feet, clapping their hands. She hugged Jess and Albus and Nina. I ducked away from my table, watching as Longbottom and Zabini shook hands, calling a truce.

I reached out for Rose when I got to her table.

"Congratulations," I said, putting my arms around her in a quick hug.

"Look at you being a good sport!" she said, kissing me quickly.

"Well, see, I'm working on a diplomacy thing," I explained, squeezing her hand. "But I do have to go back with the losers at this point… sometimes I wish I was in Gryffindor."

She caught my eyes with hers, those freshly stormed green blues locking with my eyes. "Tell the truth."

"Okay, so that's a lie," I said. "I like being a Slytherin. See you after, love."

"Commendable effort, Malfoy," she said, squeezing my hand. I drifted back to my table, sitting back down with Eric.

"I genuinely believe you would've hexed her at the beginning of this year," Eric said, starting to load scalloped potatoes on his plate.

"I would've,' I agreed. "but this is the calm after that. We're riding the good waves now, the clean and fresh ones, the ones that come after a storm.'

"So poetic," Eric said, visibly gagging. "Maybe you should change your career path, yeah?"

"And what, become a poet?" I said. "Because there's a huge market for wizard poets, Eric."

"You could start a trend," he said.

"Or I could just be an auror," I said.

"Or you could just be an auror," he agreed.

_Next Chapter: "Mum, Dad, I'm sure you both remember my boyfriend, Scorpius. And you're familiar with his parents, Draco and Astoria Malfoy." _


	50. Chapter 50

**_A/N: So everyday it is. _**

Chapter 50:

Rose:

I dropped into the already crowded compartment, nearly falling on Albus's lap, and bringing Scorpius down with me.

"All the prefects are doing what they do best, and I'm napping,' I announced, snuggling against Scorpius's arm. Last night I drifted from common room to common room, where everyone was trying to use up all of the alcohol they hadn't finished yet this year. I helped them of course, proving to everyone that my head girl duties were left behind at the feast.

Scorpius and I slept separately, both enjoying last nights in our beds, comfy and full, lethargic, but happy. And now, we were steaming toward King's Cross, our families, and our futures. It was dramatic to think of it that way, but it was true.

"Napping?" Scorpius wondered, pulling me onto his lap. "On our last ride toward home? On the Hogwarts Express? How could you ever do that?"

"I'm not going to," I grumbled. "I was exaggerating."

"It's really weird," Albus said. "That was the last time we'd do all of that, but it sort of doesn't feel like it…"

"It's so odd," Nina agreed from where she was curled up by the window, watching the countryside fly by through the glass.

"Think what's before us though," Jess pointed out, head resting on Lysander's shoulders.

"There's so much," I said, wrapping my arms around Scorp's neck.

"Anything from the trolley, dears?" we were asked, the woman poking her head into our compartment. Together we shelled out gold and collected one of everything for everyone, sharing food around, and eating Bertie Bott's beans, and getting sugar highs and stomach aches.

"I love you guys," I said. 'All of you. So if you don't write me, I will hunt you down and hex you. And you can take my word for that. It is an absolute promise."

"I would take her seriously," Scorpius suggested. Everyone laughed.

It was sad that it was over.

-CD-

Rose:

When the train pulled up to King's Cross, everyone had changed into Muggle attire. I had a sleeveless gray top and a pair of light jeans, and Scorpius was looking as attractive as usual in a plain green t-shirt and jeans. The two of us were conniving, scheming together.

We bounded out of the train, pulling owls and trunks after us, dragging them to trolleys.

"Don't leave," he told me, letting go of my hand and putting his hands on his trolley.

"As long as you don't," I said, grinning at him and starting in the direction of my parents. Mum and Dad—Dad wearing his perpetually stony expression, as he was every time he saw me with my boyfriend—were waiting for me with Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny, who were waiting for Albus and Lily as well.

"Hey, honey," Mum said, kissing my cheek as I hugged her hello. I gave Dad a hug too.

"Welcome home, Rosie," Dad said. "Is your brother coming?"

"Yeah, he should be on his way," I said, looking over my shoulder at Scorpius, who was giving his father a very stern look, while his mother looked mildly worried.

"How are you doing, Rose?" Aunt Ginny asked me, interrupting my focus.

"I'm doing really well," I said. "I'm signing with Portree this week, just in time to start training with their reserve team."

"Well done," she said. "I'm excited for you. Your mother was telling Harry and me…"

"Here comes Al," Harry told her, I looked over to see Al hugging Eric goodbye. They weren't into the PDA thing. As far as anyone knew they were just really close guy friends. But I did note, Albus's eyes darted around quickly, and he kissed Eric on the lips, not so much concerned. Eric grinned and waved at him, walking over to his parents, sending Al to walk over toward us.

Ginny hugged him and I turned to see the entire Malfoy family approaching, my oblivious parents too concerned with the fact that Hugo had been talking with a girl before walking over to them, to notice the approach.

"Hey," Scorpius said to me, causing Mum and Dad to both look around at the same time.

"Mum, Dad," I said. "I'm sure you both remember my boyfriend, Scorpius. And you're familiar with his parents, Draco and Astoria Malfoy."

Scorpius's mother smiled, but his father and both of my parents maintained offensively stony expressions.

"Look,' I said, taking a deep breath. "Scorpius and I hated each other at the beginning of this year."

"I wanted to hex her into bits," Scorpius elaborated. "We did not like each other at all."

"But now…" I said. "Well now, things are different. And we both realize that this is hard, for all of you. I'm a Weasley. He's a Malfoy."

"but," Scorpius said. "that does not stand in our way. We got over that. There was so much animosity between our families, and we realized what things could be like if we took a different approach after everything calmed. After the storm, if you will."

"So here's what we have to say. We get that you may never like each other. Or Dad, you might never like Mr. Malfoy. You might never get along, you might never be friends. But that isn't going to stop Scorpius and I. You can't stop us. We know what it's like to throw aside past feelings and look at the bigger picture of things," I said.

"So we're asking," Scorpius said. "All we're asking, is that you let us be. But that you tolerate each other. That you accept a truce. That you… get over it."

"He's a Malfoy. I'm a Weasley," I said. "Not a likely combination, we get it. But we're not going anywhere. I want to be with him and he wants to be with me. You can continue this long lasting feud, but it's not going to make us think twice about this relationship."

"Rose and I aren't saying that we're going to be together for the rest of our lives," Scorpius said. "We don't know that at that point. ButI do know this: I love her. I love her a lot, and I wouldn't do anything to hurt her."

"And I love him too," I agreed. "This may be difficult for you to see, difficult for you to accept, but it's completely true."

"So as much as this might be hideously painful for you…" Scorpius said.

"Or as much as it might be the last thing you've ever wanted to do… please just accept us. And accept each other. Get used to each other. Because you might have to deal with each other later. So start practicing now," I suggested.

We both stopped talking, looking at our parents. Our Mums locked gazes, and our fathers did too. I knew my father was the bargainer here. I was still staring at him when Mr. Malfoy spoke.

"Before we get into the resolutions," he said. "I would like to say my piece.'

"Dad—" Scorpius attempted to stop him.

"No, Scorpius. You've said your piece. Now I get to say mine," Draco Malfoy said sternly. He turned to my parents. "I would like to apologize to the both of you. Things are buried deep, wounds you will never recover from, and wounds from which I will never recover. The shadow of the war still hangs on all of us, and I recognize this as much as you do.

"And so I apologize. The actions of my family, and my family's friends are inexcusable. Furthermore, _my _actions were inexcusable. I was swept up and lost. I was a kid. I offer none of this as an excuse. But I hope it will bolster my apology. Kids follow in their parents footsteps. You know this as well as I do. I followed my father, I followed his actions and his choices, starting in school… And then the war. I'm sorry for how I treated you, and then for the courses I chose. I assure that my actions weigh heavily upon me."

He rubbed his forearm, where I knew the Dark Mark was burned into his skin.

"I hope you can find it in yourselves to forgive, or at least, pardon me for my actions. I will not say I would change them. Joining the Death Eaters was the only way to save myself and save my family. I will not step too far to say that any of you would do the same, because we are different people. I know that. To begin with, your families, would never have that be your only option. So I ask you, to just… give me a second chance, and to give my son his first chance, and not use my choices against him. If there is anything in this world that haunts me the most, it is how my actions have affected my family…"

My parents both stared at him. Then Mum extended her slim hand out to Mrs. Malfoy. Astoria shook her hand gently, smiling in relief. Then Mum shook Mr. Malfoy's hand.

"Scorpius is a fine young man, he treats Rose wonderfully," Mum assured him and his wife. "I'm happy that they are together."

Astoria smiled. "Thank you."

My dad nodded, first shaking Mrs. Malfoy's hand. I saw the force it took him to offer his hand to Mr. Malfoy. The simple handshake was hard for them. Dad pumped his hand several times, and they pulled away quickly, too afraid to let the amiable symbol linger in the air.

"I'm not sure which I hold a grudge for—the Death Eater or the insults you used to make about my family," Dad said thoughtfully.

Mr. Malfoy colored. "I'm sorry."

Scorpius laughed, shaking his head.

"I suppose I'll see you soon,' I said. "We'll have to compare NEWT scores… but even before that…"

"Of course, love," he said. Our parents stared at us.

"Come here,' I said, stealing his hand and ducking behind a pillar to hide from view.

"I think that could've been much more painful," I told him.

"I think it could've," he said, bringing me close to him and wrapping his arms around me. He pressed his lips to my cheek, then moved them to my lips.

We kissed happily behind the pillar, arms around each other.

"I love you, Weaslet," he told me gently, kissing my nose.

"I love you too, Ferret," I replied. "Now come on. I suppose we ought to get back out there before my dad comes searching."

He nodded, taking my hand as we reappeared.

"Come on," I said to my family, kissing Scorpius once more on the cheek. "Let's go home. Bye Scorp. Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, nice to see you again."

We parted there, heading toward the barrier in pairs, Mum and Hugo first, followed by Dad and me. And with my entrance to the Muggle world, I ended my seventh year at Hogwarts.

_Next Chapter: We skip ahead about a month, and then there's the epilogue which goes about a year and two months after THAT. Okay. Here's the preview: _Dear Mr. Scorpius H. Malfoy.


	51. Chapter 51

**_A/N: I'm sorry for such a short chapter. I forgot how short it was when I wrote it... ah well. _**

Chapter 51:

One Month Later:

Scorpius:

I waited impatiently at the base of the stands, in the shadow of the stadium, arms crossed. Loud laughter echoed from the tunnel leading to the girl's Portree locker room. Rose emerged with the three other girls on the reserve team, all of whom were older than her, but had taken her under their wing, slightly jealous of her chasing prowess.

"Scorp!" she shouted. "Did they come! Oh dear!"

"Yes, they did," I said. "Your mum said I couldn't steal your scores and that we had to go back to your house to look at them, though, I had another letter today with mine, from the ministry, and my mum said we had to come back to my house to look at those. So NEWTs at your house, Ministry at mine."

"Oh my Merlin!" she shouted, grabbing my arm. She smelled clean and fresh, like the Isle of Skye air, mixed with soap from the team showers.

"By Weasley!" the other girls yelled at her. Rose gripped my arm tightly, and together we turned on the spot, disappearing to reappear in front of her house. She continued to drag me up the walk and into the Weasley house, nearly tripping me as we tore into the kitchen.

"It's right here," Mrs. Weasley said, holding out the envelope, identical to the one that had come for me.

"Ready?" she said, looking at me.

'Ready," I said. 'Let's open them at the same time."  
"I can do that," she said, taking a deep breath. She pulled open the envelope as I did, and then we unfolded the paper in synch. I read down my paper: Arithmancy, O; Herbology, O; Transfiguration, O; Charms, O; Defense Against the Dark Arts, O; Potions, O; Ancient Ruins, O.

"Rose?" I looked up at her as she read slowly, biting her lip, gripping the paper tightly.

"How did you do?" she wondered.

"How did you do?" I echoed.

"F-fine," she said. I grabbed the paper out of her hands. It was identical to mine. All O's.

"Rose…" I said. "You can't do better than this. It's actually impossible."  
Her mother yanked the paper out of my hands, and then started jumping hysterically. "You beat me, Rose! I only got an E in Defense and Potions… Oh I'm so proud of you."

"Wait, Scorpius, did we tie?" she demanded

. I showed her my paper. "Of course. The world wouldn't have it any other way, Rosie."

She laughed and put her arms around me. "Good job!"

"Did you doubt me?" I wondered.

"Well, transfiguration is your worst subject…" she said.

"I told the examiner that, and he laughed at me afterward," I said. "Admit it. You just wanted to beat me."

"Well… yes," she said.

"Look Rose, you can't win everywhere. Were the Quidditch and House Cups really not enough for you?" I demanded.

'No. They werem't," she said. "I just wanted to beat you _once _in grades. _Once! _But apparently that's too much to ask."

"I want the same thing," I said. 'So we both step it up and end up tying anyway."

"Come on," she said. "We need to go read your ministry letter!"

"All right," I said, offering my hand to her.

"I'll be back later, Mum," she said.

When we got to my house, my mother and father were both pacing in the parlor, my mum holding the letter in her hands.

"Merlin," I said. "If I'd known you were calling Dad away from work, I would've hurried up. BY the way , I got all O's on my NEWTs."

"Congratulations," Mum said, thrusting the letter at me so I would just get on with opening it already.

I looked down at the envelope. Within it, the words would either beckon me into the auror program, or close all of the doors.

"It'll be fine," Rose said, patting my arm.

I slipped open the flap on the envelope, pulling it open and sliding the letter out of the paper. The entire room held its breath. Neither of my parents were breathing and Rose was staring at the paper. I opened it up, unfolding it twice and reading the heading, the date, and then finally the words.

_Dear Mr. Scorpius H. Malfoy._

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into the auror program. Your NEWT scores are reflective of your hard work and talent, and we feel that you have the potential to be a great asset to the Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Auror Office._

_You will be needed to begin training in September. First you will be presented with a series of tests, to narrow the selection. If you fail the tests, we will direct you to another career. If you pass, you will be allowed into the program, where you will begin training under the best aurors our department has to office_

_Please send your reply owl to confirm reception of this letter and your acceptance of the place offered to you. Upon your return owl, if you accept your position, you will be sent more information on how to proceed to ready you for the September evaluations. _

_Congratulations again, and we look forward to your reply, and having you join us in September. _

_Best regards and best of luck,_

_Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement_

_Harry Potter, Head of the Auror Office_

_Ted Lupin, Head of the Auror Candidate Selection Process _

"I got in," I announced, as if they couldn't tell by the smile on my face.

"Yay!" Rose said, wrapping her arms around me quickly, jumping up into my arms. "Congratulations!"

Mum hugged me, and Dad shook my hand, then hugged me awkwardly.

"Congratulations, Scorpius," he awarded, beaming at me. I knew he was proud. I knew he was happy that his name finally hadn't stood in my way.

-CD-

Rose:

I bounded up the steps of the Potter house, crashing into the kitchen dramatically, without knocking on their door.

"Al, Al, Al!" I shouted, finding him in the living room, watching a Muggle football game on his parents' television with Eric.

"What?" he demanded, sitting bolt upright.

"Well?" I said. "How did you do?"

"On my NEWTs?" he wondered. "Os in Defense, Potions, Herbology, Charms and Transfiguration, and Es in everything else I took."

"Good job!" I said.

"All O's, correct?" he asked of me.

I shrugged, sitting down. "And Eric?"

"Bunch of Es and then an O in Arithmancy, Ancient Ruins, and Charms."

"And I think there's something else you should tell me about, Al?" I prompted.

"Oh right," he said, grinning and tossing a Ministry envelope at me. I pulled the paper out, reading the words of acceptance at the top. Everything was congratulatory, and happy, and then the bottom, under Teddy's name was another name, differing from Scorpius's. It said _Dasha Lanochev, Appointed to eliminate bias in selection process… _and then a note explaining that Dasha Lanochev and two other foreign wizards helped determine Al's skill and whether or not he should be accepted, because Both Uncle Harry and Teddy were obscenely biased in terms of selection.

'Scorp got in too," I announced.

"Is anyone surprised?" Eric wondered.

"I'm not," I said, shaking my head.

"Nor am I," Albus said.

_Next Chapter: The last one! Wahh... Anyway... preview: "Oh good. Way to terrify a man Rose!" _


	52. Epilogue

**_A/N: What can I say? I'm a sap! Enjoy! _**

Chapter 52

Epilogue: One Year Later

Rose:

I beamed at him, standing in the door of the Auror Office and Scorpius moved his things into his cubical. Memos zoomed around the massive room, and Uncle Harry grinned, standing off to the side with my father and Draco Malfoy.

"Is this your cubical?" I demanded, walking up to Scorpius, jumping up onto his desk and throwing my hair back. If I stretched my foot out, it could probably touch the next wall. But then again, I did have long legs. "Spacious."

"I'm an auror!" Scorpius said. "How is that not worthy of praise and adulation."

"I'm sorry, I just finished practice. I'm too tired to bend down and kiss your feet," I told him.

It was two Septembers after we started our seventh year hating each other. He and Albus were the only two candidates allowed into the auror program a year ago, and since then, they'd worked hard enough to get themselves the official title, and the official small cubicles.

"Well I suppose you have to start somewhere. You can't just drop in and run the place," I allowed. I looked across the way. Albus was setting up his cubical too, with Eric leaning against the outside wall, tanned and toned from work breaking curses on a newly found tomb in Egypt. He came back to see Al settled in, but then he had to leave again. as a couple, they were shockingly good at the long distance thing. I didn't get how they handled it so calmly. Scorpius and I had long since decided that living under the same roof was the only way for us. It wasn't like we were jealous… we just really liked each other.

As it was, we decided the December prior to piss both sets of parents off, move out, and get our own place. We settled on the Isle of Skye, which meant he had to commute—oh yes, he had to apparate every morning, to London, long distance—and I got to basically walk a mile and I was at work. We lived in a teensy one bedroom house, but it was comfortable, and I liked it.

In May, I moved up to play as second chaser on the Pride of Portree team. I got a big locker, a new broom, a couple sets of robes, and a nice big poster made of myself that my mother proceeded to have framed and stuck up embarrassingly in our living room. I was featured in the Chocolate Frog Cards Quidditch Edition packs. And I wouldn't trade a second of it for anything.

"Are you ready to go home?" Scorp asked me, putting his hands on my thighs. "You have a match tomorrow."

"Me versus one of the teams I shot down last year. Won't this be just pleasant!" We were playing the Montrose Magpies, and I was determined, beyond all belief, to win. In the end, they weren't offering me a place as a starter on their main team for at least three years. So I would just have to show them how much of a mistake that actually was.

"Bye Dad," I said, walking past my father, Uncle Harry, and Mr. Malfoy.

"Wait," Mr. Malfoy said. "You two are coming for dinner after the match tomorrow, right?"

"Yes," Scorpius said. In our time living with each other, Scorpius and I had discovered the one thing in the world we were equally bad at: cooking. Any opportunity for a home-cooked meal that wasn't slightly scorched was more than welcome.

"We'll see you there," Dad informed me.

"Huh?" I said. "Oh at the match, right."

"We're coming to dinner," Dad corrected. "We'll see you at the Malfoy's."

"You're coming to dinner?" I said.

As much as my parents and the Malfoys weren't enemies anymore, and they were cordial to each other… well they certainly weren't the best of friends. We very rarely all clustered together.

We arrived at our home, opening all the windows to let in a good breeze, and curling up on the couch together in the comfortable air.

"I can't believe you're an auror," I informed him.

'I can't believe you're a starting chaser for my favorite team," he said back. "Look what I got today."

He pulled a chocolate frog card out of his pocket. "I was just getting a chocolate frog at lunch, and it just so happened that I picked Quidditch addition, thinking I'd get a Viktor Krum, or maybe a Gwenog Jones—one of the really old, really good ones. But then I just got yours."

"One of the not so old, not so good ones," I said.

"Exactly," he teased.

"You said that as if you don't collect the Pride of Portree cards anyway," I said.

"Only yours," he said, hugging me closer.

-CD-

Rose:

The Magpies finished their lap of the stadium, bringing the attention to where we would enter. I stood thirtd in line, team captain and keeper Lila Opal stood in front, then head chaser Petra Nicola, then me, then our other chaser, Will Gregory, followed by beaters Krista Ryan and Westley Jones, and finally, our seeker, the lithe and tiny, Phillip Gamp.

The announcer called out as we flew into the stadium, "The Pride of Portree, Captain Lila Opal, her chasers, Nicola, Weasley, Gregory, beaters Ryan, Westley, and seeker Gamp! It is the first match with this time for second chaser, Rose Weasley, a year out of Hogwarts School."

Scorpius, his parents, and most of my family was down there, watching me. I looked at the heads crowding the Montrose stadium. I couldn't pick out the blonde head of Scorpius or his father.

When the game began Petra had the quaffle, and we ran the perfect formation that we had practiced a thousand times.

"Weasley with the quaffle drives to the goal, passes up to Gregory, across to Nicola, back to Weasley and she shoots and ten points to Portree!"

They were basically Slytherin. Or Ravenclaw. Or a talented team. We were equally matched.

-CD-

Rose:

"Well then," Petra said as Lila looked at all of us in the locker room.

Liam walked in the room, hands on his hips.

"Well then one and oh it is," Liam said. "Good job, good job! Statistics anyone? We scored five hundred-ten points. One hundred fifty of them were from Phil catching the snitch. Because of how long it took to catch the snitch, however, we were able to make thirty-six quaffle shots out of fifty-two attempts. Not bad odds seeing as their keeper, Mulvaney, is rated two in the league, after the Kestrals and right before Lila here. Who fared much better than he did actually, but we'd reap the benefits of that later.

"Will, you scored seventy points, missing four shots out of eleven," he said.

"Rose, you scored one hundred thirty points, missing four shots as well, " he said…

We showered and changed back into our street clothes, finding the instant rankings that were constantly being updated. I was ranked thirteenth among thirty-nine chasers in the league after the first round of games. Lila had moved up to second after the Kenmare keeper. As a whole, the Pride of Portree was currently ranked third in the League, under Kenmare and Holyhead. Last were the Chudley Canons.

Scorp was waiting for me outside. The game had run late, but we would still be well on time for dinner.

"I'll see you later," Albus said to me, giving me a hug when he saw me. "Good game. But I have to run. Eric's mum is cooking for us tonight before he goes back to Egypt."

"All right," I said. "Well I'll see you… probably tomorrow or something."

"Bye," he said.

Scorpius took my hand. "Let's go for a walk. It's a nice night. And Mum said they need about a half an hour to an hour anyway.'

"Oh," I said. "Okay."

"It was a good game,' he awarded me. "You played brilliantly."

"I'm ranked thirteenth!" I cheered. "I'm in the top third!"

"Wow," he said. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks," I said.

"You're welcome," he said, drawing me out toward the water, which was glimmering in the early dusky orange light.

"It's beautiful out, isn't i?" I said.

"Yes, it is," he agreed, looking out at the water.

We were quiet for a moment. A fish broke the glassy surface.

"I love you, Rose," he said.

"I love you too,' I replied, sliding closer to him.

"I may have hated you a long time ago… but now… well I can't imagine not having you. You know that right? You know how much I love you and need to be with you?"

"You tell me frequently," I said, reaching up to touch his face. "You know I love you too.'

"Yes," he said. "You're amazing Rose. I like competing with you, bickering with you, and then just sitting on the sofa for hours on end with you. I want to do it forever."

"What are you saying?" I wondered.

And then he was down on one knee.

"Rose Nymphadora Weasley, will you marry me?" he asked, opening a ring box.

I stared at him.

After the silence got somewhat awkward, he cleared his throat.

"I mean, eventually," he said. "I don't think… not for a good couple of years, duck, not until you're ready. But I want to make it official. If that's okay."

"it's okay," I said. "Of course I'll marry you."

"Oh," he said. "Good. Way to terrify a man Rose…"

He stood up and kissed me deeply, wrapping me up in his arms and swinging me around. "I was going to make this more romantic… but I didn't know how."

"This is perfect," I said, kissing him back.

He pulled away for a moment, to slide an engagement ring on my finger. I looked at it for a moment, and then started laughing.

"This is not the ring I made out of a beetle during the NEWTs!" I said.

"No,' he said. "it's not. I swear. It looks just like it though, because you always talked about how pretty you thought that ring was.'

"I wouldn't have minded if it was, actually," I said.

"Now you tell me," he said, kissing me again.

"So this is why my parents are at dinner at your parents ' house," I said. "They knew about this!"

"Oh yes, I asked your dad's permission about a week ago," he informed me.

"And he said _yes?" _I said, shocked.

"Oh ye of little faith. Of course he said yes," he said, shaking his head. "Come on. Let's just go to dinner."

We turned on the spot and arrived at Malfoy Manor, walking inside.

"So what would've happened had I said no?" I wondered.

"I knew you wouldn't say no," he said. "Absolutely everyone thought you would say yes."

"I love how predictable I am," I complained as we walked deeper into the house.

Laughter filled our ears before we reached the room.

"Oh my…" he said. "I think they might all be having a good time."

"Maybe we shouldn't interrupt…" I said.

"Oh right," he said. "As if they're not all waiting with bated breath for us to announce to them our engagement."

We walked into the room where our parents were all getting along.

"So?" Mum said.

"Apparently, as I'm predictable, you already know what my answer is," I said.

"So she said yes?" Astoria gushed, springing up from her chair and hugging both of us.

"No, she said no, Mum," Scorpius said sarcastically. My dad laughed and Scorp and I got sucked into a sort of big group hug.

Dad and Mr. Malfoy clapped each other on the back, and the mums offered each other tissues. And we all settled down to a dinner, cordial, polite, and maybe even friendly.

-The End-

(Completed April 20, 2011)

**_Big Fat A/N: Well! Thank you all so much for reading this. It was my first ever complete fanfic, and I hoped you liked it, put up with my posting, my authors notes, and my interpretation. Thank you all for reviewing, and for those who didn't thanks for reading! You really made this much more fun than I thought it would be. I was very hesitant to post on this site and well, let's say I got addicted to reviews quickly. Thank you for reading and putting up with Rose and Scorp and their insanity and obnoxiousness, and dealing with their rough times and everything... Final thank you to: Avanell, Parvati48, tiffyrose, Meghla, Sam Storsky, Huloo and ilikepie2013 for their constant reviewing . It's a day brightener. And finally... if you all like my stuff, check out my profile and my other work in progress, "The List" It's a James Potter/Lily Evans fic, that will be super long (much longer than this) and follows them from seventh year until their deaths. I update it every other day. _**

**_Love! caputdraconis14, Cappy, CD, whatever. _**


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